WBD1: Manage ponds
What you must do to get paid for this action and advice on how to do it.
This is an action in the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme: expanded offer for 2024. You must read the SFI scheme information to understand the scheme rules and how to apply.
Duration
3 years
How much you’ll be paid
£257 per pond per year, with a maximum of 3 ponds per hectare (ha)
Action’s aim
This action’s aim is that there’s a pond containing clear and clean water with:
- a range of semi-aquatic vegetation allowed to develop around the pond edge
- submerged and floating pond plants
- submerged or partially submerged deadwood
The purpose of this is to:
- increase biodiversity
- help improve water quality
- provide habitats for native aquatic species
Where you can do this action
You can do this action on eligible ponds located on land that’s:
- an eligible land type (read section 5.1 ‘Eligible land types for SFI’)
- registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
- declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover
An eligible pond for this action must be:
- more than 25 square metres up to 2ha (at the point you apply for an SFI agreement)
- under your management control – this includes the whole of the pond edge and the water in the pond
The following ponds are not eligible for this action:
- ponds used for wastewater, treated effluent discharge activities or road drainage
- sediment ponds, basins, traps or lagoons
- balancing ponds
- ponds which are largely or fully synthetically lined
- ponds which are likely to need fully draining during this action’s duration, such as irrigation ponds and fire water ponds
- aquaculture ponds
Eligible land
| Eligible land type | Eligible land cover | Compatible land use code |
|---|---|---|
| Arable land used to grow crops | Arable land | Land use codes for arable crops or leguminous and nitrogen-fixing crops |
| Temporary grassland | Arable land | TG01 |
| Arable land lying fallow | Arable land | FA01 |
| Permanent grassland | Permanent grassland | PG01 |
| Permanent crops | Permanent crops | Land use codes for permanent crops |
| Woodland | Woodland | WO12 |
Eligibility of protected land
| Protected land | Eligibility |
|---|---|
| Sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs) | Ineligible – you must not enter ponds into this action that are on an area that’s designated as an SSSI |
| Historic and archaeological features | Eligible – you must get a HEFER before you do this action (read section 5.6 ‘Land with historic or archaeological features’) |
Available area you can enter into this action
Not applicable. You’ll enter the number of ponds.
Rotational or static action
This action is static. This means you must do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration.
What to do
You must manage the pond in a way that can reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim, including:
- controlling scrub around the pond edge by lightly cutting it or grazing it with livestock to encourage a range of semi-aquatic vegetation to develop
- trying to avoid livestock trampling and poaching the pond edge which can make the water turbid (cloudy)
You must not:
- deepen or change the pond’s original profile, including filling it in
- artificially introduce plants or animals to the pond, including fish or waterfowl
- allow supplementary feeding of fish
- feed waterfowl – if there’s public access to the pond, try to discourage wildfowl feeding
- add dyes to the water
When to do it
You must do this action from its start date, throughout each year of its 3-year duration.
How to do it
It’s up to you how you do this action, as long as you:
- follow this action’s requirements – these are identified by a ‘must’
- do the action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve this action’s aim
Advice to help you do this action will be published before applications are fully launched from summer 2024. It will not be part of this action’s requirements.
Evidence to keep
You must keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:
- pond management operations at a land parcel level and associated invoices
- photographs and other documentation
If it’s not clear that you’ve done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, we may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if we 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. For example, winter cover followed by a summer companion crop. Read ‘What to do’ and ‘When to do it’ to find out when this action must be done.
| Scheme | Action or option codes |
|---|---|
| SFI 2024 actions | No SFI 2024 actions |
| SFI 2023 actions | No SFI 2023 actions |
| CS options | No CS management options |
| ES options | No ES options |
| SFI pilot standards | No SFI pilot standards |
If an action or option cannot be located on the same area, you may be able to do it on a different area in the same land parcel. Read section 6. ‘Eligible land in other funding schemes’ for more information.