Rural Payments and Services

For recent changes to this guidance, please see the bottom of the page.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Water quality benefits
• Benefits to the physical condition of watercourses
• Wildlife benefits
• How wide does the water margin have to be?
• How do I know where the top of the bank is?
• How wide should my margin be?
• Looking after your water margin
• Why are there different management requirements and dates in the option?
• How to increase the success of the option
• Recent changes
• Previous versions
• Download guidance

A water margin is an area of uncultivated land next to a ditch, burn, river, pond or loch.

It will protect water from pollutants such as soil, nutrients, pesticides and animal manures. It can also provide valuable wildlife habitat and a corridor for wildlife to move along.

You can manage water margins as areas of grassland or they can contain trees and shrubs or other habitats, such as wetlands (land saturated with water).

You can only claim the water margin management option payment on land cover that would be eligible for the Basic Payment Scheme.

These options are for managing water margins next to arable or grassland fields, but not for water margins next to woodland.

• water margins help slow, store and filter water and associated soil, nutrients and pesticides flowing overland and through the soil
• excluding livestock helps prevent faecal matter from entering the water
• excluding livestock will help stabilise banksides
• water margins help slow the flow of water during heavy rainfall and reduce the peak flow and flood risk downstream
• small streams and ditches (even ones that may be dry for part of the year) are just as important in protecting water quality as larger watercourses, as their water quality affects the water quality of the larger watercourses they feed into

• water margins give rivers more space to form a naturalised river corridor
• water margins help to maintain the stability of banksides
• excluding livestock will help reduce bank erosion and excessive sediment deposition

• water margins can be habitat refuges for a range of animals and plants
• water margin wildlife can act as natural pest control and support pollinators
• the margin can connect habitats allowing wildlife to move safely between them
• planting or allowing trees and tall herbs to grow will help shade the water and reduce stream temperatures to benefit fish
• protecting water quality protects plants and animals that live in the water

In a change from the previous programme, measurement of the margin now starts at the top of the bank to be consistent with Good Agricultural and Environmental Condition and Scottish Environment Protection Agency guidance under General Binding Rules.

Under GAEC 1 you must not cultivate or apply pesticides within two metres of the top of the bank of a watercourse. Under GBR 18 inorganic fertiliser must not be applied to land that is within two metres of any watercourse. Measurement of the margin starts at the top of the bank and the first two metres from the top of the bank are not eligible for payment. The eligible area for payment for these options will start from the edge of this two-metre strip.

You can apply to manage any width of margin you like, so long as the required minimum width from the top of the bank is met along the margin (any areas found to be less than the minimum width will be removed with penalty). Your payment will be calculated on a hectarage basis by measuring the eligible area, i.e. the area beyond the GAEC / GBR two-metre strip at the top of the bank and up to the maximum eligible width of 18 metres.

Your margin can also vary in width along its length, so long as the required minimum width from the top of the bank is met along the entire margin (any areas found to be less than the minimum width will be removed with penalty). For example, you can manage a wider margin at one point to intercept a known overland flow pathway and have a narrower margin elsewhere. You will be paid for the eligible area of the margin.

For example:

• you have a watercourse with a bed width of greater than 1.2 metres
• your margin has to be at least six metres wide at all points from the top of the bank, but you can choose to manage any width beyond this
• payment is for an area with a maximum width of 18 metres (a 20-metre wide margin with the first two metres from the top of the bank ineligible for payment)
• your margin can vary in width along its length provided it is always at least the minimum width, in this case six metres
• your payment is calculated on a hectarage basis by measuring the eligible area, i.e. the area beyond the two metre GAEC / GBR strip and up to the maximum eligible width of 18 metres

In your application, you should submit a table setting out information on the length, width and eligible hectarage of the margins you are applying for.

You should also set out how the margin will be managed. Please contact SEPA if you need to check if your margin falls within a bathing water catchment.

A template is provided with examples of the information required. For example, if your margin is the same width along its entire length then just specify this one width. If your margin varies in width along its length then provide figures to describe the narrowest and widest points.

Remember to exclude the first two metres from the top of the bank from the widths you record in the table and from your calculations of the eligible area.

You should also exclude any areas of ineligible features, such as trees, from the ‘total hectarage claimed’ in the summary table. Payment will be made for the eligible area that you have calculated.

The location of the top is identified like this:

1. Where the bank is fairly steep and an obvious bank face exists, the bank top is the highest part of the bank where the slope angle changes from steep to gentle and cultivation could take place. This is illustrated below.

2. Where the bank face is very shallow and there is no obvious break in slope, the bank top is the height to which water normally reaches during the largest flood normally experienced during the course of a year.

This is also illustrated in the figures below. Note the flood height used here excludes the water height reached during rare major floods.

The normal flood level height may be difficult to identify because there is not a single indicator that can be used to locate it. Depending on the site, the following indicators may be used:

• traces left by high-water including flattened vegetation, deposited sediment (typically sands) or a high-water line of washed-up matter such as twigs or leaves
• exposed coarse sediments such as gravels
• changes in the pattern or type of vegetation

The main function of a water margin adjacent to arable and grassland fields is to slow the flow of surface water run-off and intercept pollutants.

In general, the wider the margin, the better the protection it offers both water quality and wildlife.

When deciding what width of water margin to establish, consider:

• the slope
• the soil drainage properties of the adjacent field
• the type of crop

In general, the longer the slope, the steeper the slope and the less free draining the adjacent field is, the wider the margin you will need to slow the surface water flow.

Some crops are more prone to erosion than others, such as potatoes or winter cereals without cover crops, and they may need wider margins.

Consider how you will manage the water margin. You may want to choose a width which will allow you easy access for machinery to cut the vegetation, or will help you graze the margin.

• the margin will work most effectively when the vegetation is long enough to slow the flow of water and trap sediment. Ideally it will be at least 10 to 15 centimetres tall
• phosphorus is carried in soil sediment, and can therefore accumulate in water margins. It is therefore useful to cut the vegetation (and remove cuttings) or graze the margin to help reduce the levels of phosphorus, so that the margin does not become a source of pollutants.
  Wildlife habitats also benefit from low levels of nutrients and cutting or grazing will maintain a greater range of plants and animals in a grassy water margin
• grazing levels should be light enough to avoid poaching, and to maintain the grass at about 10 to 15 centimetres. Sheep will cause less damage to banksides than cattle. Allowing stock to have access to the adjoining field whilst grazing the margin will help prevent poaching
• you may already have some trees along your watercourse, or wish to plant some more. Planting native trees or shrubs adds habitat diversity to a water margin and provides benefits for fish by adding leaf matter to the freshwater and providing shade. You should read the guidance on Assessing your land eligibility to consider the effect that tree planting will have on Basic Payments. Trees are classed as 'partially ineligible features' and will reduce the area of eligible land
• you should control any invasive non-native species if they are present or colonise the water margin
• you can choose to bring field drains and culverts to the surface to form wet areas in the water margin. This will prevent nutrients draining directly to water
• water margins should be thought of as one of several measures to protect water quality. Water margins intercept water and pollutants from fields but they can be complemented by other measures and practices in the field itself to protect water quality
• nutrient management planning for all fields will help you avoid applying excess fertiliser or manure
• ploughing across the slope or creating grass strips across the slope are two examples of ways of cultivating arable fields to reduce run-off
• keeping the neighbouring arable field free of compaction and maintaining levels of organic matter will help water to soak into the cropped soils and help reduce the amount of sediment likely to flow into a water margin
• you should look to see if there are any overland flow pathways that should be intercepted so that a large flow of water doesn’t overwhelm your water margin

Requirements for smaller watercourses

It is beneficial to have water margins on watercourses of all sizes, including ditches, but it is recognised that it may not be feasible to have the same size of margin on all watercourses.

A narrower minimum width has been allowed on watercourses with a bed width of less than 1.2 metres because of this. Also, narrower margins are harder to cut or graze. Grazing is not allowed because of the greater risk of poaching in the smaller margin. Cutting is not required on these narrower margins (although you can cut them if you’re able to).

You can manage a wider margin on a small watercourse if you want. If the margin is six metres or wider, then the management requirements for a six metre or larger margin apply.

Requirements for bathing water catchments

A number of catchments across Scotland have been designated as bathing water catchments. This means that the land drains to the sea or freshwater that is used by a significant number of people for recreation.

Bathing waters need to be protected from contamination with faeces in order to protect people from illness.

If a water margin is in a bathing water catchment, livestock should be excluded during the bathing water season (1 May to 15 September).

This is a very effective measure in protecting bathing waters. Water margins that are not in bathing water catchments have an earlier end to the stock exclusion period (15 August) set.

Please note

Where farm livestock are prevented from accessing traditional watering places by the water margin option, you can apply to install alternative watering points, the cost of which can be supported as a capital item.

You can apply for payment for planting trees in a water margin using the Small-scale Tree and Shrub Planting capital item.

For margins of 6 metres or wider you can seek prior approval from Scottish Natural Heritage or RPID to not cut or graze a water margin.

Approval will only be given in exceptional circumstances, where you can demonstrate that there is a biodiversity benefit and that it will not affect water quality. You should provide a written justification as part of your application, which will be considered by the Case officer. If you are unsure whether the proposed management will be acceptable, please discuss this with RPID or SNH prior to submitting your application.

This option covers margins next to water. There are separate options for creating or managing grass strips within an arable field or adjacent to other field boundaries, for example hedges.

• all watercourses and standing waters will benefit from water margins. Some margins will be more beneficial for reducing the effects of diffuse pollutants. Use the information in your farm environment assessment to identify the highest risks and most relevant measures to address the risk
• for arable fields, the steepest slopes and crops that are more susceptible to soil erosion, e.g. potatoes, will benefit most from margins and from wider margins
• for grassland fields, creating water margins and alternative watering where livestock have access to watercourses or standing water is most beneficial to prevent bank erosion or preventing faecal contamination in bathing water and shellfish water catchments
• use other measures in conjunction with water margins to slow flow and trap sediment or distance livestock from water
• bring field drains up into water margins or direct them to rural sustainable drainage systems rather than leaving them to discharge directly into a watercourse
• for biodiversity, use water margins to create physical links between other existing habitats such as woodland, grassland, wetlands and hedgerows
• plant trees to benefit wildlife and address diffuse pollution. Combine planting trees and also cutting or grazing a grassy water margin to remove nutrients by planting trees or shrubs in part of the margin or on the banking and still cutting the remainder of the margin or from the top of the bank

Previous versions of this page

Click 'Download this page' to create a printable version of this guidance you can save or print out.