Smart agri-abstraction trial - Water Resources East

Introduction

Water for use in agriculture is a highly valued resource that allows for the quality and yield of irrigated produce, livestock drinking, food processing and wider activities. In order to safeguard this supply in the future, innovations are sought that safeguard water resources for the sector.

Smart farming is defined by the Environment Agency, as ‘the use of technologies and data-driven systems to improve efficiency and sustainability in agricultural production’. Employing smart farming technologies and the latest developments in data and systems for water resources in agriculture, allows the sector to both maximise availability and efficiency of application.

Water Resources East was funded by the Environment Agency on behalf of Defra in early 2025 to carry out research into the current position of smart farming in the UK for water resources and to determine the best forward that that would lead to improved action on the ground.

Through stakeholder engagement and academic review, our scoping study highlighted the significant adoption of practices on-farm to-date, such as in irrigation and infrastructure, that have increased efficiency of operations and environmental protection. However, the discussions highlighted a real need for new solutions that assisted with water availability and reducing environmental impact at a landscape scale. It also showed that socio-technical actions were required for delivery to allow for effective collaboration between abstractors and users, widespread uptake of smart technologies and increased confidence in their use.

For the full scoping study report, please click here.

The study scoped and costed a trial that took these findings and this trial is now underway. The trial looks to use of real time telemetry to guide surface water abstractions with the view of maximising the capture of available flows, implementing systems to allow for innovative licensing and setting out the governance and knowledge sharing resources so this can be spread catchment and nationwide.

Objectives

Through this trial we are hoping to achieve four key outputs which could transform the way we think about and use water within agriculture.

Smart abstraction understanding – we will use current catchment knowledge and real time telemetry to further our understanding of catchment dynamics and the availability of water throughout the year.
Smart abstraction management in practice – A combination of novel licencing, telemetry and a shared live dashboard will provide real time information on water levels, quality and forecasting. Using this, real time, collaborative abstraction can be implemented and trialled on a catchment scale.
Smart abstraction management governance – developing an approach to the governance of this model, ensuring effective and fair water capture across the catchment within strict environmental guidelines.
Smart abstraction knowledge – Sharing a clear and accessible template, covering key findings of the trial with requirements for licenses, equipment and collaboration between abstractors.

The trial is funded by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and supported by Defra. The Environment Agency are key partners to enable the successful outcomes of the trial and the Steering Group represents abstractors, WAG’s, NFU, UKIA, research and wider organisations.

Approach

To achieve our objectives, we are working alongside several agricultural surface water abstractors in the Upper Cam Catchment to deliver the trial, with results shared with abstractors regionally and nationally.

With these abstractors, and other stakeholders, we will:

Delve into the current hydrological, licensing and stakeholder understanding of the catchment.
Install site appropriate telemetry on farms and across the catchment to measure river surface water conditions, groundwater levels, reservoir levels and weather.
Alongside the Environment Agency, test licence conditions permitting 24/7 capture of available river flows.
Develop a dashboard to track and forecast available flows based on real-time on-farm and catchment instrumentation along with data from
Environment Agency gauging stations. This will form the basis of evidence of the difference that is possible through dynamic abstraction management at a catchment scale.
Develop and share a governance framework/principles that allows water sharing and trading at a catchment scale
Understand the barriers to water sharing and trading at a catchment scale and how licencing strategies could be modified to enable dynamic abstraction moving forward
Create practical guidance leaflets to share these findings broadly, as well as sharing through workshops and wider industry events.

Why?

Balancing food production with environmental health is a major issue throughout the UK, with differing views on where these resources are best placed. Optimising efficiency in this sector is key to reducing pressure on agriculture and its associated industries. The gains that could be made in abstracting dynamically have the potential to improve river and groundwater

When

Phase I delivery of the trial ran from October 2025 to March 2026, with measures put in place (see details below) to enable real-time abstraction management and effective water sharing and trading governance. Phase II of the trial is running from April 2026 – March 2027 to test real-time abstraction management through a summer irrigation and winter re-fill period, with findings shared regionally and nationally to inform future policy and practice.

Phase 1 Delivery

Work with partners across the trial to-date has enabled:

Real-time abstraction has been enabled in the Upper Cam catchment through the production and use of Local Enforcement Position (LEP) from the Environment Agency. This LEP allows for abstraction based on near real-time information from the Environment Agency gauging stations to be used to inform abstraction, rather than the current e-alert system. This LEP is associated with a number of quality assurance and monitoring conditions and does not change abstraction levels or limits.
Installation of real-time telemetry on-farm (pump meters, reservoir level sensors, weather station), river (flow, level, velocity, water quality) and catchment (rain gauges, groundwater sensors) have been put in place to understand river, on-farm and groundwater dynamics, alongside historic catchment and abstraction data analysis.
A farm irrigation infrastructure network review has shown the opportunities and limitations of real-time abstraction and water capture for the key agricultural businesses.
Catchment abstraction licence information, EA gauging station and trial telemetry data have been coupled with a new high and low flow forecasting model for the Upper Cam through the development of an innovative smart abstraction dashboard. This shows all relevant information to enable real-time abstraction decisions for abstractors, data validation and a holistic catchment view.
Through an abstractor survey, workshops, existing best practice interviews and analysis current water sharing and trading practice has been examined. Guidance and recommendations have been convened to effectively support abstractors in water sharing and trading decisions and opportunities between multiple abstractors or at a catchment scale.
Trial learnings and findings have been shared through events, meetings and stakeholder liaison. Practical guidance leaflets have been developed, to include water sharing and trading guidance and templates, smart abstraction dashboard creation and agricultural abstractor and regulator real-time management requirement recommendations.

“I’m passionate about utilising our existing infrastructure and investing in water. One of the main areas we can do is to make the most of high flow water, with the co-operation of the Environment Agency, to improve the environment and reduce flood risk.

If we can abstract more water in a smart way and store it in reservoirs or in our aquifers, it will form such an important part of Cambridge’s future water supply. We can work together and get this right.”

-Robert Smith, Russell Smith Farms; Key Upper Cam catchment abstractor
Image: Farmers Weekly