Assessing the effectiveness of vegetated stream buffers for improving the quality of runoff from agricultural land

This project investigated how fenced, vegetated stream protection zones can be effective for improving water quality in a drinking water catchment that contains grazed farmland. It achieved this by monitoring a range of pollutants from unprotected and protected catchments under different conditions, as well as by monitoring the activity of cattle in the stream. When cattle entered the stream, they immediately reduced water quality by disturbing the stream bed. As a result, excluding cattle with fenced protection zones will improve water quality immediately. Protection measures also reduced the input of faecal pollution, safeguarding the water resource and human health.