Environment Agency
Morphology describes the physical characteristics of water environments, including both landforms and the processes that creates and modifies them. Morphology is a term used in river basin management planning and along with hydrology is known as hydromorphology. Morphology is important for physical habitat, managing flood risk and erosion, and biodiversity. A functioning morphology can help catchments adapt to climate change and other pressures, but also it is important to understand the risk posed by a changing landscape.
It is important that waters and their surrounding landscapes are managed to help improve the morphological condition to help protect and improve the ecology and ecosystem functions. This is done by managing the pressures acting on morphology, restoring the impacts from existing (legacy) physical modifications and managing the impacts from new activities. New development opportunities to seek opportunities to not only protect, but also enhance or restore waters, providing overall net gain.
Section 8.3 provides an overview of mechanisms used to mitigate the impacts from physical pressures, and to enhance and restore the morphology of waters, often lost because of existing and historic modifications. The mechanisms identified relate to the following areas of activity and development they focus primarily on mechanisms to manage morphology but include reference to hydromorphology where relevant:
- navigation
- development
- land drainage
- flood and coastal erosion risk management
- dredging, disposal and development in estuaries (transitional waters) and coastal waters
- other controls, plans and programmes
Along the coast and within estuarine waters, port and harbour authorities have a general duty to exercise their functions with regard to nature conservation and other related environmental considerations. There may also be specific duties that are only applicable to individual port and harbour authorities, which are set out in local legislation such as harbour revision orders. Harbour authorities are also public bodies for the purposes of the WFD Regulations.
This is also the case for inland navigation authorities, which have general environmental duties as well as more specific duties that may be set out in local legislation. The Canal & River Trust is the largest United Kingdom navigation authority. The Environment Agency is also a navigation authority and the second largest with 1010km of primarily river navigations in England.
The Green Blue is a joint programme by the Royal Yachting Association and British Marine. It helps the boating community reduce their impact on coastal and inland waters by raising awareness, supporting practical projects and offering easy to follow advice. It has been very successful in influencing boat users, marinas and boatyards to adopt good environmental management and trial innovative solutions; and has also made a significant contribution to reducing the spread of invasive non-native species.
The majority of Englands inland navigation authorities also require compliance with the common minimum standards of the Boat Safety Scheme as a requirement of boat licensing or registration.
The Boat Safety Scheme is owned jointly by the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency and is a public safety initiative aimed at helping reduce the risks of fire, explosion, carbon monoxide poisoning and pollution on small craft and so keeping visitors to the waterways, as well as navigation authority staff safe.
The work is done by promoting fire safety, carbon monoxide and pollution avoidance advice to help boat owners keep themselves and their crews safe as well as periodic examination of fuel systems, gas systems, electrical systems and appliances. Boats need to comply with common, minimum standards of construction and equipment and undergo an examination every 4 years.
Under the planning system local councils and other planning authorities must consider environmental protection and enhancement when assessing development proposals, including those in the marine environment (see section 8.6). The statutory processes of Sustainability Appraisal (incorporating Strategic Environmental Assessment), Habitats Regulations Assessment and individual Environmental Impact Assessment processes (or other relevant assessments) provide a means of screening potential impacts of plans, programmes and individual proposals. Further information is provided in the Planning Practice Guidance supporting the National Planning Policy Framework.
By law, any planning application for development has to be determined against policies in the Development Plan for the area, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. These considerations include the National Planning Policy Framework which states that the planning system should contribute to conserving and enhancing the natural environment by:
- protecting and enhancing valued landscapes, sites of biodiversity or geological value and soils
- Providing net gains for biodiversity, contributing to the governments commitment to halt the overall decline in biodiversity, including by establishing coherent ecological networks that are more resilient to current and future pressures
- preventing new and existing development from contributing to, being put at unacceptable risk from, or being adversely affected by, unacceptable levels of soil, air, water or noise pollution or land instability; development should, wherever possible, help to improve local environmental conditions such as water quality, taking into account relevant information such as river basin management plans
The Planning Practice Guidance draws attention to the requirements of the WFD Regulations and highlights that local planning authorities should have regard to river basin management plans in exercising their functions. The guidance provides further information on how planners should take account of impacts on the water environment in Local Plans and planning applications, with reference to the WFD Regulations.
To achieve this, the guidance advises that local planning policies will need to consider water supply, waste water and water quality issues, including:
- how to help protect and enhance local surface and ground waters that allow new development to proceed
- the type and location of new development where an assessment of the potential impacts on water bodies may be required
The guidance provides further information on the consideration of planning applications where there are water quality or supply issues.
Where the assessment indicates that the development will have a significant adverse impact on water quality, the proposed development will only be acceptable in terms of the WFD Regulations in the circumstances set out in the river basin management plan.
The consideration of any hydromorphological impacts is likely to be particularly important where new development requires new or changed flood defences or improved coastal defences as these can often be designed to combine improving ecological quality with providing recreation facilities (green infrastructure) for the local community.