The Eden DTC Project
Some risks are large and obvious– floods, landslides and earthquakes, for example. However, others can be more long-term and subtle, and a key example of this type of problem is water pollution in rivers and lakes. The pollution impacts the ecology and can cause issues for the users of the water environment. Within many landscapes, the main pressure driving the failure to achieve good status under the EU Water Framework Directive derives from diffuse pollution of sediment, phosphorus and nitrogen from agricultural landscapes. The River Eden Demonstration Test Catchment project (2009-2018) was a collaborative project between Durham, Lancaster, Newcastle Universities and the Eden Rivers Trust tackling these diffuse pollution impacts on fresh water and ecology. The project uses an interdisciplinary approach that includes physical process monitoring, social attitude analysis, and environment simulation modelling. By integrating these approaches, the aim is to improve the water quality & freshwater ecological health whilst minimising impacts on farm businesses. 
Environmental Monitoring
The EdenDTC project has monitored three sub-catchments of the River Eden in Cumbria. Each catchment is equipped with environmental monitoring equipment for water flows and quality, focused on nitrogen and phosphorus. The ‘standard’ environmental monitoring is ten measurements per year, but this project has taken a far more detailed approach, with measurements every 30 minutes. This increased level of detail gives new insights into the physical processes and, hence, the ability to design more bespoke mitigation schemes.
Erosion Risk Mapping
Changes in soil erosion potential and hydrological connectivity were monitored using UAV / drone based monitoring. A set of high risk fields were monitored in detail using a DJI S1000 octocopter to produce a time series of changing vegetation patterns and associated erosion risk. The SCIMAP risk mapping approach was used to quantify the hydrological connectivity and diffuse pollution production potential. The approach allows for the detailed spatial targeting of mitigation features at the sources and pathways of pollution, hence minimising the impact on the farm business.
Simulation Modelling
Simulation modelling was used to understand the detail of the spatial and temporal patterns of water and nutrient fluxes within the catchment and how these fluxes may alter with different mitigation schemes under projected climate change. The work utilised hydrological simulation models such as the Durham University developed CRUM3 and SCIMAP-based risk mapping tools, both of which have been supported by IHRR.
Mitigation scheme design
A wide range of potential diffuse pollution mitigation measures can be used, and their performance varies depending on their placement in the landscape. As part of the project, a test set of mitigation features has been installed, including changes to land management - e.g. storage features within a ‘treatment train’ (a, b and c), soil aeration (d), riparian fencing and woodland creation. These features captured 42 kg/ha sediment, 0.06 kg P / ha and 0.16 kg N / ha from features covering 0.02% of the catchment. This information is valuable since it will enable the scaling up of these features to the broader landscape and the design of effective mitigation schemes. 
Ecological Monitoring
The ecological health of the streams has been monitored (led by Lancaster University) to assess the impacts of changes in water quality and large flood events. A strong link was found between ecological health and the site’s recent flow history, and this finding has implications for how the ecology may respond under projections of climate change.
Farmer Attitudes
The Eden Rivers Trust led surveys and workshops with farmers between 2013 and 2016 to ascertain farm practices, stocking rates, cropping details, and other farm management information. A survey was also undertaken on attitudes towards diffuse pollution mitigation. The surveys have indicated that farmers are least likely to undertake measures that require taking land out of production or interfering with existing management, such as re-siting gateways. Options such as roofing over yards and establishing cover crops are viewed positively by farmers who have not yet implemented them.
Summary
The EdenDTC project has developed a detailed dataset of the integrated catchment hydrological, water quality and ecological behaviour over multiple years, including drought and extreme rainfall events. This dataset highlights the interaction between ecology, hydrological and nutrient dynamics driven by sediment and nutrients exported within a few high-magnitude storm events. Hence, these high-resolution processes must be studied in conjunction rather than in isolation to understand system dynamics and critically evaluate effective mitigation schemes.