By Munisha News Desk | May 2026
The Severn Valley Water Management Scheme team used this year’s Shropshire County Show to speak directly with farmers, landowners and rural businesses about future flood and drought resilience across the Upper Severn catchment.
More than 40 visitors spoke with the team at the show stand about the Demonstrator Programme, which is managed by Shropshire Council and is testing ways to manage water more collectively across the landscape.
County show talks with rural businesses
The conversations focused on how land, rivers and floodplains can be managed to reduce flood risk, improve drought resilience and support the wider environment.
Pete Lambert, SVWMS Demonstrator Programme Manager, said the show gave the team a chance to hear directly from the farming community about the pressures they face.
“We’re working closely with farmers and landowners across Shropshire and Powys, and events like this help us explain why a more balanced, long-term approach to water management is needed,” he said.
Why dredging came up at the stand
River dredging was one of the most common subjects raised by visitors. The SVWMS team said large-scale dredging can appear straightforward, but does not always reduce flood risk and may disconnect rivers from their floodplains.
The scheme is instead looking at a mix of natural flood management, land use change and engineered measures where they are suitable.
A cross-border plan for the Upper Severn
The Severn Valley Water Management Scheme is led by the Environment Agency with Natural Resources Wales, Powys County Council and Shropshire Council, with funding from Defra.
Tom Dainty, Shropshire Council deputy Cabinet member with responsibility for flooding, said the Demonstrator Programme is exploring practical nature-based options while considering communities, biodiversity and the rural economy.
The team was also joined at the show by the National Flood Forum, which supports communities at risk of flooding. Further engagement is planned in the coming months as options are developed for a future water management strategy.
Source: Shropshire Council Newsroom
Source check Source trail
This article was prepared from Shropshire Council Newsroom’s May 2026 update and checked for names, roles and scheme context.
- Confirmed the event as the Shropshire County Show.
- Checked the scheme name as Severn Valley Water Management Scheme.
- Matched quoted roles for Pete Lambert and Tom Dainty.
- Verified the stated partners and Upper Severn catchment scope from the source item.
- Source
- Shropshire Council Newsroom
- Scope
- Shropshire
- Updated
- 2026-05-26 16:46
Source check
Report a trust issue
Send a clear signal to community moderation if the source, facts or context need review.
Article contextPeople & topics2#7
What do you think about this article?
Reader Ideas Newsroom
Have a sharper angle for this topic? Add it to the community idea board and let readers vote it up for editorial review.
/linkComments
8+ useful words can earn +10-60 DP; shorter replies can still publish without DP.