Dove
The Dove management catchment stretches east of Stoke‑on‑Trent from the uplands near Buxton down to just north of Burton upon Trent. It includes a mix of small towns and rural communities such as Leek, Cheadle, Ashbourne, Uttoxeter, Hilton and Tutbury. The River Dove rises on Axe Edge and flows south‑east through changing landscapes before joining the River Trent, moving from fast‑flowing headwaters into wider lowland floodplains.
This area contains numerous surface waterbodies and a high concentration of protected habitats, including SSSIs, SACs and SPAs. These support species‑rich grasslands, wetlands, woodlands and high‑quality river corridors, making the Dove an important landscape for wildlife and nature recovery.
Like many catchments, the Dove faces environmental pressures. Current issues include agricultural pollution, invasive non‑native species such as Signal Crayfish and Himalayan Balsam, and past physical modifications that disrupt natural river processes.
The Environment Agency also highlights emerging challenges linked to climate change, including more variable river flows, increased agricultural and wastewater pressures, and the spread of invasive species. Abstraction remains an important consideration in the area, with both public water supply and non‑PWS abstractors operating within the catchment.
We need your help!
Your involvement is crucial as we work together to better understand the Dove. We will be conducting a workshop on 15 June 2026 at Longsdon Memorial Hall, Stoke-on-Trent, ST9 9QF. We hope you can attend and bring your local knowledge, practical experience, and on‑the‑ground perspective that we simply can’t capture through data alone. Together we hope we can build an accurate picture of the catchment, help identify viable water resource options, highlight potential opportunities to improve in-river ecology and shape partnership projects that genuinely reflect local priorities. Your input ensures that the plans we develop are realistic, collaborative, and capable of delivering real improvements for the water environment. Ultimately, by working closely with us now, you’ll be helping to secure healthier rivers, more resilient catchments, and better outcomes for the communities and sectors that depend on them.
Book your workshop place
What are our objectives and investigations?
Understand what river flow targets and changes to water abstraction may be needed to support a healthy water environment in the Dove.
Check how well the Environment Agency’s national modelling reflects local conditions. You can view their modelling in the Modelled Abstraction Reductions – National Framework for Water Resources 2025.
Compare the national modelling with improved local data to make sure we’re getting an accurate picture of the catchment and its needs.
Explore options to improve and protect river flows, including reducing our own abstractions where necessary. We’ll also look for opportunities to work with local partners and develop Nature‑Based Solutions (NBS) that strengthen the catchment’s resilience.
Use the evidence gathered to build confidence in any future abstraction changes, helping us prioritise actions and plan a realistic timeline for making improvements.
Feed into the development of our Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP), which outlines how we will meet long‑term challenges such as population growth, drought, environmental pressures and climate change, while ensuring a reliable water supply. The plan is being developed alongside the Water Resources West Regional Plan, which sets out how all abstractors in the region will work together to secure water supplies over the next 60 years. The first plan was published in June 2025 and is available here: Water Resources West Final Regional Plan — Water Resources West.
So who abstracts water and how much?
In this catchment, Severn Trent operate eight groundwater abstractions with licences authorising 43Ml/d. Severn Trent also operates three surface water abstraction points from two reservoirs and the river Dove, plus a scheme to augment the Croxden Brook with groundwater.
South Staffordshire Water also operate three abstraction licences in the catchment.
The table below uses data from the Environment Agency’s Modelled Abstraction Reductions - National Framework for Water Resources 2025 for the Dove catchment it shows the volume of licenced surface water and groundwater abstraction by sector.
What have we done so far and what have we got planned for this investigation?
We are working to a deadline of 31 December 2026 to deliver the first phase of Environmental Destination investigations. By this date we will have developed abstraction reduction scenarios, compiled a high-level list of potential options which enable the proposed reductions or support the ecological needs of the catchment and we will deliver a narrative of how we have come to our decisions.
During 2025:
WRW water companies have been working together and with regulators to agree the scope and methods for these investigations.
We have been analysing data and previous investigations to develop an understanding of the catchments and understand current flow pressures and impacts on ecology.
During 2026:
We will be holding engagement sessions to talk to other abstractors, water users and stakeholders to develop our understanding of the catchment and pressures on water. We will be looking for opportunities to get involved in existing projects and work with you to develop new opportunities to improve water resources and low flow conditions in the catchment. Once confirmed the sessions will be listed here along with a booking form. In the meantime, you can register your interest by providing your contact details below.
We will be undertaking modelling work to enhance the understanding of the catchment, look forwards at the potential impacts under one or more climate change scenarios. Along with information collated from stakeholders we will assess the EAs national framework reduction numbers to identify what reductions may be needed in the future to public water supply abstractions.
We will begin to prioritise the actions that are needed and develop an approach through the WRMP and regional plan to address these.
Can’t join us at the workshop? We would still like to hear from you
Please complete the contact form below, letting us know things like: Do you want to partner with Nature Based Solutions? Are you already working on something in your area? Do you have any evidence of the catchment that you would like to share? Can you let us know the grid reference of the location you are referring to? What is your interest in the catchment? Do you have any thoughts you would like to share on our investigations?
If you would like to know a bit more about the data we are using for these investigations, below are the data sources we have used:
EA catchment data explorer: England | Catchment Data Explorer
Provides data used by EA in River Basin Management Plans
EA Environmental Destination Catchment Summaries: Catchment Summaries | Environmental Destination - Get involved! | Engage Environment Agency
Information to help understand the water resources challenge in local catchments
Modelled Abstraction Reductions - National Framework for Water Resources 2025: Modelled Abstraction Reductions - National Framework for Water Resources 2025
A spreadsheet showing a range of potential reductions to abstraction licence quantities which may be needed to meet environmental flow requirements