Norfolk Environment Food and Farming (Norfolk EFF)

Norfolk Environment Food and Farming (Norfolk EFF) (originally 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 near the valley fens. Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) designations under the Habitats Regulations are driving these changes.
In response, Norfolk EFF members set up the Norfolk Sustainable Abstraction (NSA) programme. This uses 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 partial reductions in licenced quantities and sharing available resources. The modelling is being supported by a water level monitoring programme, including a “smart farm” water management pilot.