Our vision is a healthy network of chalk streams, brooks and canals, with flourishing nature and clean, plentiful water throughout the Kennet catchment.
Who we are and what we do
The Kennet Catchment Partnership is a group of individuals, organisations and landowners with an interest in waterbodies in the Kennet Catchment. We work together to:
Collectively review and develop the Kennet Catchment Management Plan, identifying actions already in progress and adding issues and actions needed to achieve a healthy river.
Reach a shared understanding of the catchment’s priorities through an integrated catchment-based approach.
Identify a range of measures that support ‘good ecological status’ (as defined by the Water Framework Directive), deliver multiple environmental benefits and create resilient communities.
Embed collaborative working in the development of strategic priorities and on-the-ground delivery of multiple objectives through an inclusive partnership.
Increase community participation to improve local understanding and management of the water environment.
Identify best practice components that can be replicated in similar projects.
Reviewed: August 2025
The partnership and the plan are constantly developing and more partners and projects will be added as the plan progresses. We are actively looking for new partners to come on board to work with us, please get in touch for more information.
Background
The Kennet Catchment has been dramatically affected by human activities over the past 50 years. The M4 motorway has driven urban development and a trebling of the population, while agriculture has seen a major switch from pasture to arable, with a trebling of the cultivated land area. The re-opening of the Kennet and Avon canal in 1990 has added further pressure on the river’s water quality and wildlife and the poor performance of sewage treatment works has added additional nutrient loads.
Water Framework Directive (WFD) Classification
Using the Water Framework Directive, water quality and biological monitoring data, the ecological condition of the Kennet catchment has been found to be about 10% in good condition.