Farmers will be paid to store water on their land after South West Water and Westcountry Rivers Trust were awarded £1m for undertaking a ground-breaking drought reduction project. 

The two organisations - Westcountry Rivers Trust is a charity - were awarded a portion of a £40m investment from Ofwat's (The Water Services Regulation Authority) innovation competition, Water Breakthrough 3. The competition invited solutions with the potential to deliver wide-scale and transformational changes, bringing benefits to customers, society and the environment. 

The project will involve paying farmers to create 'water batteries', storing up water in soil 'sponges' as well as ponds and lakes. 

These stores will recharge during wet weather and can be used during periods of drought, either for use on the farm to reduce demand on the mains supply, or sold to a range of buyers.

It is hoped that the project will contribute to better hydrated wetlands, woodlands and fields, which will in turn boost biodiversity but also help farms manage water demand through dry weather. 

The project is part of a wider scheme of 16 projects as part of the Water Breakthrough Challenge, which aims to tackle the biggest challenges facing the water sector, such as achieving net zero, protecting natural ecosystems and reducing leakage, as well as offering value for money to customers. 

Carolyn Cadman, Director of Natural Resources, said: "This exciting project will embed new ways of thinking, valuing and storing water across the South West.

"The project will explore innovative ways of improving resilience to climate change, which we expect will bring more intense rain and more periods of drought. Working in partnership we will test ways in which farmers can capture and store that intense rainfall on their land, either to use themselves or by selling it onto others."

More information about the winners of the Water Breakthrough Challenge can be found here.