Making water policy work in the United Kingdom: A case study of practical approaches to strengthening complex, multi-tiered systems of water governance

• Published in: Environmental science & policy 2017-05, Vol.71, p.41-55
• Main Authors: Robins, L., Burt, T.P., Bracken, L.J., Boardman, J., Thompson, D.B.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Brexit; European Union; Floods Directive; Integrated catchment management; Policy; Water Framework Directive; Water governance; Water resource management
• ISSN: 1462-9011; 1873-6416
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2017.01.008

•Ten actions proposed for strengthening water governance in contexts with complex, multi-tiered arrangements.•A case study focus on the collective water policies and approaches of the United Kingdom (UK), including those of devolved governments.•We contend that these actions, individually and collectively, will transform water resources planning and management.•Post-Brexit, a system-wide water policy is urgently needed to galvanise stewardship of water in the UK.•It is vital to maintain and build on the substantive benefits arising from implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and Floods Directive. We propose a suite of actions for strengthening water governance in contexts with complex, multi-tiered arrangements. In doing so, we focus on the collective water policies and approaches of the United Kingdom (UK), including those of devolved governments, which confront a host of serious water-related challenges—from massive flooding of urban areas and agricultural lands, to pressure on aquifers from rising water demand and drought. Further complexity in addressing these challenges has emerged in the wake of the June 2016 vote to leave the European Union (EU), so-called ‘Brexit’, and the ensuing ‘separation process’ with uncertainties for institutional and governance arrangements to follow. We make ten proposals for improving and reinvigorating water policy in complex, multi-layered situations, and comment specifically on their application in the UK setting. These are: put in place a system-wide water policy; fully embrace community-led nested river basin planning and management; fully fund river basin planning and management; re-focus the policy framing; use best-available data and information; create conversational spaces and become a more water-literate society; mobilise people; support and sustain core community networks; underpin river basin plans with regulatory provisions and effective monitoring and enforcement; and address systemic institutional amnesia. Individually and collectively, we contend that these actions will have a marked effect on transforming the planning and management of water resources. A system-wide water policy that maintains and builds on the substantive biophysical and socio-economic benefits delivered through implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive, together with the more recent Floods Directive, will galvanise stewardship of water in the UK. We urge more active engagement with and empowerment of the multiplici