Water quality pressures

• Drinking Water Safeguard Zone – River Exe (Surface Water)

• Diffuse agricultural pollution (nutrients, sediments)

• Phosphate sensitivity within catchment

• Pesticide risk in surface water

• Faecal indicator organism risk (FIOs)

• Catchment Sensitive Farming priority area

Hydrology & flood pressures

• Rapid runoff response in headwater systems

• Reduced natural water retention due to land drainage

• Downstream flood risk linked to upstream flow behaviour

• Channel modification and flow acceleration

• Limited infiltration and increased surface conveyance

Agricultural legacy pressures

• Historic land drainage systems (pipes and ditches)

• Channelisation of natural flow paths

• Soil compaction from grazing and machinery

• Reduced soil water holding capacity

• Altered hydrological function of valley systems

Biodiversity pressures

• Loss of wetland habitats

• Degradation of species-rich grassland

• Fragmentation of ecological networks

• Decline in invertebrate populations

• Reduction in habitat diversity

Catchment & landscape pressures

• Headwater systems underperforming in water regulation

• Nutrient and sediment transfer downstream

• Reduced buffering capacity in upper catchment

• Pressure on downstream water bodies (River Exe)

• Cumulative impacts across the catchment system

Policy & regulatory pressures

• Water Framework Directive (WFD) targets

• Drinking Water Safeguard Zone requirements

• Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) priorities

• Flood Risk Management priorities

• Environmental land management policy pressures