PRO005122-Services-Contract-MCDM-Sustainable Catchment Management Programme (SCaMP)

Description

A long-term hydrological and water quality monitoring study has been conducted across three United Utilities estates (the Upper Goyt, Ashway Gap catchments at Chew and Brennand catchments, Bowland), commencing in 2006 in response to the SCaMP-related moorland restoration and management and works. The programme is now entering its 20th year and has yielded a valuable dataset, which has provided valuable evidence of both the short-term and longer-term effects of moorland restoration, the effect of single, but impactful events including moorland fires and phases of woodland felling and in recent years, the effects of annual climate variability and the impact of anthropogenically-induced climate change. The high temporal resolution of the dataset, combined with its overall timespan, makes it almost unique outside UK public-sector organisations and is frequently used by academic researchers across the UK. The monitoring programme was initially established during the original programme of SCaMP-related restoration work and so no pre-restoration data exists for the site. As of 2026, the monitoring programme will be in its 20th year. The monitoring project has been extended and refined over several phases and the monitoring programme revised from time to time. The following provides a summary of the current monitoring configuration, as of January 2026. Monitoring needs to continue as per current configuration to build on existing dataset. This request covers the period September 2026 to April 2030.