CSW17: Raise water levels in cropped or arable peat soils to near the land surface
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

10 years

How much you’ll be paid

£1,409 per hectare (ha) per year

Action’s aim

This action’s aim is to raise the water level throughout the year on cropped or arable land with lowland peat soils to between 10 and 30 centimetres (cm) below the mean field surface level all year around.

The purpose is to reduce:
- the degradation of lowland peat soils
- greenhouse gas emissions
Where you can do this action

You can do this action on eligible land that’s located below the moorland line.

You can only do this action if you have feasibility study or implementation plan agreed with Natural England.

Land is eligible if confirmed as lowland peat in a feasibility study or implementation plan and with support from Natural England.

You cannot do this action:
- where it would damage priority habitats, protected species or features of archaeological, historic or landscape value, unless you can take approved measures to mitigate this
- where it may increase the risk of flooding or waterlogging outside the agreement area
- where it could damage third party land or buildings, infrastructure or other assets
- if there are conflicts with public access or other uses of the land that cannot be resolved
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.

Rotational or static action

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

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 water levels throughout the year to between 10cm and 30cm below the mean field surface level, across the land entered into the action by the second year of your agreement
- install dip wells within the first year of your agreement
- record water levels from dip wells each month
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.

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:
- to agree an implementation plan or feasibility study with your Natural England adviser – a plan or feasibility study should include a flood risk assessment (if required)
- 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 the necessary consents and water resource licences from the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) or Internal Drainage Board (IDB) as appropriate before undertaking any works – for example, abstraction licence, impoundment licence or transfer licence from the Environment Agency
You may need to:
- get advice from your Natural England adviser if you have other archaeological or historic features on your agreement
- get planning consent or permission to divert a public right of way from your local planning authority, if your agreement requires building or removing a flood defence bank
- 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..

Manage water levels

Managing water levels are complex and management will vary from site to site. Manage water levels depending on the characteristics of your site, particularly its:
- geology
- soil type and permeability
- hydrology
You will agree with your Natural England adviser on what management activities you will undertake using this action and how you will manage and monitor them.

Your feasibility study or implementation plan will not set out the agricultural activity on the land, but do consider this as part of planning.

Your feasibility study or implementation plan will include your site’s:
- peat depth and condition – use Natural England’s geographic data to find peaty soils in England (https://england-peat-map-portal-ncea.hub.arcgis.com/)
- local geology, soil type and hydrology
- the position and number of dip wells
- effects on other habitats and local ecology, including any priority habitats or species, ditches of high environmental value, or historic or archaeological features
- existing drainage channels relevant to the project area or those that may affect the ability to perform this action
- water management and which organisations are likely to be affected and need to be consulted during the project
- effects on the surrounding land use and water requirements, including getting agreement from neighbouring landowners if they will be affected
- risk assessment on flooding outside the site
- contingency for severe weather events, such as drought or flooding
Your feasibility study or implementation plan will also consider:
- how much water is required to raise and maintain the water levels
- how you’ll maintain water levels across the whole site and if you need capital works to achieve this
- if you’ll need additional water
- where it will be sourced from and stored
For sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs), you may need to ask a hydrology specialist to produce a water level implementation plan to balance and integrate the water level requirements on the SSSI. LIDAR data can help you understand the terrain of your site. You can download the data for free from the Defra data services platform (https://environment.data.gov.uk/dataset/2e8d0733-4f43-48b4-9e51-631c25d1b0a9)

How this action may affect farming practices

Wetter conditions will affect cropped and arable land and could:
- reduce yields or increase crop failures if crops are intolerant to waterlogged roots
- cause access difficulties from machinery and damage to the site
- limit inputs of nutrients – you may need to review how you input nutrients effectively
How to modify farming practices

You are likely to need to modify your farming practices in wetter conditions, you could:
- switch to more tolerant crops, such as celery, blueberries or typha
- invest in machinery with low ground pressure
- adopt novel technologies such as using drones for checking crops and seeding
Read about research into wetter farming and paludiculture initiatives (https://www.paludiculture.org.uk/) for more information.

Responding to climate change

Read Natural England’s publication: ‘Adaptation for habitats in Environmental Land Management Schemes’ (https://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/5673659512127488) to help you consider your general response to climate change. You must continue to follow the mandatory activities for this HT action.