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 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.

Published 31 May 2024