Extending Nitrate Vulnerable Zones

Plans to reduce the level of nitrates draining from agricultural land into surface and groundwater by extending Nitrate Vulnerable Zones will be put out to consultation next year, Environment Minister Chris Mullin announced this week.

Nitrate Vulnerable Zones define water 'catchment' areas where nitrate levels in water exceed, or are likely to exceed, the legal limit set down in the EU Nitrates Directive. In a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone, farmers are required to follow measures designed to provide a general level of protection against nitrate pollution of surface waters and groundwater, including drinking water sources.

In a written parliamentary answer to Alice Mahon MP, Mr. Mullin said that following a reference to the European Court of Justice, nitrate levels will now be monitored in all freshwaters and not just in drinking waters, in line with a wider interpretation of the EU Nitrates Directive. Nitrate levels in non-drinking surface waters are already being monitored by the Environment Agency and parallel work will be undertaken to establish nitrate levels in groundwater not used as a source of drinking water.

It is expected that this extended testing will lead to the designation of new Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, in which Action Programme measures will help to reduce nitrate levels in water. Technical assessment of the extended monitoring as a result of this change is already underway, and completion of the associated mapping of areas proposed for designation is expected next year. The Government will then publish a Consultation Paper, detailing its designation proposals, which will set out the exact number and location of the new Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. It is expected that, as with existing Nitrate Vulnerable Zones, the majority of any new designations will be in central and eastern England.

The EC Nitrates Directive (91/676/EC), agreed by the EC Environment Council in 1991, is an environmental measure designed to protect water against pollution caused by nitrate from agriculture. The Directive aims to reduce the level of nitrate in those areas where the water is polluted, and to prevent new pollution from arising.

The Directive requires Member States to introduce a voluntary code of good agricultural practice to provide a general level of protection against nitrate pollution in all waters; designate high-nitrate areas as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones; establish Action Programmes, based on good agricultural practice, in these areas; and to implement these programmes.

There are currently 66 Nitrate Vulnerable Zones in England. These were designated in 1996 and were based on exceedences identified in drinking water supplies of the 50mg/litre legal limit. In accordance with the Nitrates Directive, the Action Programmes in these Zones came into force on 19 December 1998.