The country is to be split up into 11 River Basin Districts (RBD's). Each RBD will have three Catchment Officers (CO's) employed by Defra. The CO's will be able to call on AWMC for specific farm advice.

The types of farms targeted would include:

• farms involved with pollution incidents.
• farms with high connectivity to sensitive waterbodies.
• farms scoring high values on soil management plans.
• farms with little ELS of HLS take-up.

The single, biggest threat is from agriculture. This is perhaps unsurprising as agriculture covers over 70% of the land area of England and Wales and sources of diffuse pollution - including nutrients from fertilisers and manure - are integral parts of farming.

Research suggests that agriculture, through leaching and run off, is responsible for 40-50% of phosphate pollution in our water systems.

Elevated levels of nutrients can result in toxic algal blooms and affect the natural aquatic ecosystems which in turn impact the food chain that supports fish, animals and birds.

The Catchment-Sensitive Farming programme is seeking to reduce diffuse water pollution from agriculture in England - to help agriculture play its part in ensuring that water in England is clean and healthy as practicable. This will contribute to several of Defra's wider aims including encouraging sustainable farming, raising water quality and improving the conditions of wildlife.