Rural Payments and Services

The aim of this item is to improve water-use efficiency by collecting and storing water in an irrigation lagoon. This will also help to protect water quality at times of low water availability due to low river flows.

The land must be within a catchment which drains to water bodies that are significantly impacted because of abstraction for agriculture.

This item can stand alone or be part of a wider application. Standalone irrigation applications will be assessed on their own merits and against other standalone irrigation lagoon applications if budget pressures constrain our ability to approve applications.

Standalone Irrigation Lagoon applications (lagoon and underground drainage only) must be submitted in the period 15 February 2024 to 19 April 2024. Successful applications will receive contracts from May 2024 onwards.

Applications for Irrigation Lagoons that also include AECS management proposals should be submitted in the main Agri-Environment window 1 February to 10 June 2024.

You can check if this option is available on your holding using the search targeting tool which can be found on any of the following AECS guidance pages:

AECS Home

Eligibility

How to Apply

Management Options and Capital Items

Capital Items

• You must produce a diffuse pollution steading assessment if the lagoon will be filled from water collected from steading roofs.
• If the lagoon is distant from the steading and not filled from water collected at a steading then there is no need for a diffuse pollution steading assessment, although you must provide full detail of how the lagoon is to be filled.
• The application must also contain details of the crops to be irrigated and any existing water storage facilities that are used for irrigation purposes.
• You must hold an abstraction licence from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency
  the lagoon must be off-line (i.e. there should be no impounding works which hold back flows in wetlands, rivers, lochs and estuaries).
• You must obtain planning permission, or have confirmation that planning permission is not required for your proposed lagoon.
• Where a proprietary lining is used, a receipt for the liner will be required.

Irrigation lagoon

The maximum payment for this option is restricted to £40,000 per business:

• £2.94 per cubic metre without a proprietary liner
• £8.20 per cubic metre with a proprietary liner

Collection of run-off from farm steading roofs:

• underground drainage – £35.46 linear metre

The inspectors will check:

• the location and extent of any irrigation lagoon
• that you have a receipt for a proprietary liner
• the length in metres of drainage to the lagoon
• the lagoon is offline and there are no impounding works which hold back flows in wetlands, rivers, lochs and estuaries

Supporting guidance is available for this item.

Section	Change
Eligibility	Added text: This item can stand alone or be part of a wider application. Standalone irrigation applications will be assessed on their own merits and against other standalone irrigation lagoon applications if budget pressures constrain our ability to approve applications. Standalone Irrigation Lagoon applications (lagoon and underground drainage only) must be submitted in the period 15 February 2024 to 19 April 2024. Successful applications will receive contracts from May 2024 onwards. Applications for Irrigation Lagoons that also include AECS management proposals should be submitted in the main Agri-Environment window 1 February to 10 June 2024.
Application Requirements	You must produce a diffuse pollution steading assessment if the lagoon will be filled from water collected from steading roofs. If the lagoon is distant from the steading and not filled from water collected at a steading then there is no need for a diffuse pollution steading assessment, although you must provide full detail of how the lagoon is to be filled. The application must also contain details of the crops to be irrigated and any existing water storage facilities that are used for irrigation purposes.
Payment	The maximum payment for this option is restricted to £40,000 per business: - £2.94 per cubic metre without a proprietary liner - £8.20 per cubic metre with a proprietary liner

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