Farming for water; catchment management initiatives for reducing pesticides.

Payment for Ecosystem Service (PES) schemes is increasingly being used to obtain and drive environmental improvements. This paper describes two PES schemes, designed by Severn Trent Water (STW) to manage metaldehyde; Farm to Tap, and Product Substitution. Data collected over three years of running the schemes indicate that they can reduce the mean metaldehyde concentration at the Water Treatment Works by up to 61%; however, in‐catchment concentrations are more variable. Participant usage and behavioural surveys identify that the majority of farmers will use multiple methods to manage their slug problem. Farmer initiatives developed where rewards are paid for metaldehyde reductions, regardless of the process(es) used (Farm to Tap), result in 12% more metaldehyde reduction than when product substitution is used alone. Going forward, catchment management is the long‐term, economic and sustainable option. Schemes like Farm to Tap and Product Substitution are crucial to achieve water quality improvements and wider environmental benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]