CaSTCo: Roadmap
for the Future

Over the last four years, the Catchment Systems Thinking Co-operative (CaSTCo) project has demonstrated that it is possible to move from disparate, monitoring “campaigns” into continuous, unified stewardship of our water environments. This is all thanks to the efforts of partners and communities across the water and environment sectors, that have turned scattered measurements and data into coordinated intelligence.

The goal for this Roadmap is based on an ambitious vision: that by 2035 every river in England and Wales is monitored, understood and cared for through a single open data system that unites regulators, utilities, researchers, businesses and communities. The result – faster action on pollution and clearer accountability of the health of our river systems that are no longer managed in silos but as the blue threads that stitch together climate resilience, public health, biodiversity and local prosperity across the UK.

This vision unites utilities and regulators, aligning investment and seeking insight beyond the bounds of the requirements of existing regulations such as Section 82. NGOs, community groups and citizen scientists collectively share monitoring data and insight more widely, across the whole spectrum of catchment health considerations. Tech providers and researchers co-design solutions and tools that turn raw readings into rapid action and value and funders and philanthropists channel their funding to enable benefit and impact across multiple bottom-lines – economic, environmental and societal – to futureproof collaborative catchment monitoring for all.