Broadlands Agricultural Water
Abstractors Group (BAWAG)

Broadland Agricultural Water Abstractors Group (BAWAG) members in the Broads are at the forefront of licence reductions to conserve and protect water dependent habitats and species. Since 2016, this effort has focused on broads and marshes in the lower Ant valley. 
Over the next 2-3 years the rest of the Broads will be affected, as will other areas in Norfolk in proximity to valley fens. Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) designations under the Habitats Regulations is driving these changes.
In response, BAWAG members set up the Norfolk Sustainable Abstraction (NSA) programme. This is using the Environment Agency North-East Anglian Chalk (NEAC) groundwater model to map vulnerability to licence reductions and then explore options to restore abstraction to sustainable levels, including making partial reductions in licenced  quantities and sharing the available resources. The modelling is being supported by a water level monitoring programme, including from a “smart farm” water management pilot.