CSW23: Manage features on arable land for flood and drought resilience and water quality
Source: gov.uk (2025-09-10)

What you must do to get paid for this CSHT action and advice on how to do it.

This action is part of Countryside Stewardship Higher Tier (CSHT). You must read the CSHT guidance (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/countryside-stewardship-higher-tier-csht) before you apply.

Duration

5 years

How much you’ll be paid

£1,241 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to reduce runoff from rainwater and store more surface and groundwater in arable land. You can do this by managing features such as sediment traps, bunds, swales and the area surrounding them.

The purpose is to help manage flood risk, improve drought resilience and improve water quality.

Where you can do this action

You can do this action on eligible land where the landscape, soil and geology provide conditions that benefit flood and drought resilience.

You cannot do this action:
- in floodplains
- above the moorland line
Eligible land

You can do this action on land that’s:
- an eligible land type
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/land-use-codes-rural-payments) which is compatible with the eligible land cover
Available area you can enter into this action

Total or part of the available area in the land parcel (minimum area of 0.25ha).

Rotational or static action

This action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.

Where not to use this action

Do not use this action:
- on land subject to recent or historical incidents of pollution
- near landfill areas, geohazards or mining areas
- in locations immediately upstream of steep slopes, such as coastal cliffs where the action could increase risk of landslips
- close to drinking water supplies that are located on MAGIC (https://magic.defra.gov.uk/)
- on grassland – an alternative action ‘Manage grassland for flood and drought resilience is available for grassland
What to do

Your Natural England adviser will assess your land. They’ll work with you to adapt and agree the activities you must do to achieve this action’s aim. All mandatory activities will be set out in your agreement document.

To get paid for this action, you must:
- maintain and create features to improve water quality and drought resilience (for example removing sediment from sediment traps)
- remove artificial drainage
- manage vegetation to maintain surface roughness and maintain an average sward height of 15cm (or taller) throughout the year
- remove soil compaction before starting work
- control invasive non-native species
You must not:
- cut the land for silage or hay – topping to control scrub is allowed during late summer and early autumn to avoid disturbance to ground nesting birds
- plough or cultivate the area (unless restoring grass species composition or removing compaction)
- apply fertilisers or manures
- use the land as access routes for vehicles or livestock
- apply pesticides – you may be able to use herbicides to spot-treat or weed-wipe for the control of injurious weeds, invasive non-native plant species, nettles or other plants if this has been agreed with your Natural England adviser
When to do it

You must do this action each year of its duration.

Evidence to keep

You must keep evidence to show what you have done to complete this action. If it’s not clear that you have done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) may ask for this evidence.

You must supply the evidence if they ask for it, including:
- field operations at a parcel level
- associated invoices
- photographs relevant to the action
Other actions or options you can do on the same area as this action

You can do the following actions or options on the same area in a land parcel as this action.

Some actions or options can only be done on the same area if they’re done at a different time of year to this action.

You can do the following actions or options on the eligible boundaries of a land parcel entered into this action:
- CSHT actions: CWT3, CHRW4
- SFI 2024 actions: CHRW1, CHRW2, CHRW3, BND1, BND2, WBD10
- SFI 2023 actions: HRW1, HRW2, HRW3
- CS option BE3 (management of hedgerows)
Consents, permissions and licensing requirements

To apply for this action, you’ll need:
- Scheduled Monument Consent (https://historicengland.org.uk/advice/planning/consents/smc/) from Historic England for any work on scheduled monuments
- consent from Natural England for any activity on land designated as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/protected-areas-sites-of-special-scientific-interest#get-consent-to-carry-out-operations-on-your-land)
- to obtain any necessary consents from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) or Internal Drainage Board (IDB) before starting any work
You may need to:
- agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser
- get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement land
- get a wildlife licence (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wildlife-licences) from Natural England if your activities affect a protected species or their habitat
All archaeological and historic features (including scheduled monuments) are identified in your Historic Environment Farm Environment Record (HEFER).

If you’re a tenant, it’s your responsibility to check whether your tenancy agreement allows you to complete what’s required in the actions you choose. You may need your landlord’s consent.

Capital grants to support this action

If you need to complete an implementation plan or a feasibility study before you apply, you can apply for capital grants plans funding (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/capital-items-guidance-for-applicants-and-agreement-holders#capital-grants-plans).

You can also apply for capital items (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/capital-items-guidance-for-applicants-and-agreement-holders) to help you achieve the action’s aims. Your Natural England adviser will discuss eligible capital items with you.

Advice to help you do this action

The following optional advice may help you to do this action. Your agreement document will set out all the activities you must do.

Choosing a site

Surface water pathways that flow during heavy rainfall make the best sites for features which reduce runoff from rainwater and store surface and groundwater.

To improve overall multiple benefits, install features across the farm, and ideally across the catchment, to:
- slow and infiltrate water into the land
- reduce runoff
- reduce erosion and sedimentation
Planning

You can create a water flow management plan to help decide the best position to locate new features and how to manage existing ones. You can apply for a capital grants plan (PA1: Implementation plan (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/implementation-plan-pa1) or PA2: Feasibility study (https://www.gov.uk/countryside-stewardship-grants/feasibility-study-pa2)) to fund this. The plan will:
- assess the location of your site within the catchment, and whether it can provide flood, drought or water quality benefits
- identify the best locations for temporary water storage features
- tell you how to build and maintain the features, including how to remove existing drainage
- identify any changes you need to make to management practices for the features to work well, such as to reduce soil compaction.
- identify any environmental or historic features that you need to consider when completing this action
Establishing the features

You can install temporary water storage features identified by your plan. It may be beneficial to create multiple smaller storage features rather than a single large feature, to reduce risks and increase flexibility and benefits.

It’s best to locate features in a sequence along a slope or area so that different sizes or rates of sediment are removed at each stage. This cleans the water and allows stored water to disperse slowly into the ground and onto the next feature. Do not allow contaminated runoff or contaminated stored water to infiltrate the ground.

Design capacity needs to be less than 10,000m3.

You can include a grassed area around the edges of a feature to increase surface roughness.

Managing the site

The storage features are likely to collect sediment. You can remove sediment from storage features and sediment traps as needed. Place the sediment on top of or next to the feature and spread it thinly. Keep records of this to show you are complying with your agreement.

Sow the feature with a mix of grasses and herbs of varying rooting depths to allow infiltration and stabilise the area. This can be cut or lightly grazed to control sward height. You must manage this to prevent poaching.

It is important to repair any damage that impacts the function of the storage features and avoid management that could result in soil compaction.

Veterinary medicines such as ivermectin wormers, and livestock insecticides (especially pyrethroids) can have a negative impact on both land and freshwater ecosystems. If you’re a livestock farmer, you could work with your vet to see if you can agree a way to reduce the impact without affecting the animal’s welfare.