Property:Project summary
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Splash is a Wales Assembly Government Fund, managed by Environment Agency Wales, and is designed to assist and enable projects that improve public access to Wales’s waterways for recreational and educational activities. The Foundation received Splash funding from 2008-2010 to continue the Passport Scheme and to facilitate Canoe Access Arrangements on those sections of the Wye and Usk that have no right of navigation.
The access point at Llangurig on the upper Wye, established by the Foundation with Splash funding.The Buckland South beat on the Usk, which joined the Passport scheme in 2009.
Our first project (October 2008 – March 2009) was the "Canoe Access Reconciliation Project" (CARP), which extended and maintained the previous access agreements pioneered by the Foundation with WAG and CCW for the upper Wye & Usk. Within CARP (total budget £10,000) we extended the agreements to cover the Rhayader to Llanwrthwl stretch of the upper Wye (including signage and website information) and installed a new webcam at Rhayader.
At the same time Splash also contributed £20,000 towards the 2009 Passport. With this we produced and distributed the 2009 brochure, signed up 7 new beats in Wales, improved access to 15 beats and installed 2 new webcams.
Our second tranche of Splash funding (August 2008 to March 2010) included a further £13,000 for canoe access and £10,000 for the Passport scheme. Within this we extended the access agreements on the upper Wye from Llangurig downstream to Rhayader and investigated extending them below Crickhowell on the Usk. We also produced the 2010 Passport booklet with 4 new Welsh beats.
Splash funding has enabled us to continue and expand the Wye and Usk Passport and invest in, maintain and extend canoe access agreements in the face of increasing pressure for free and open access to all Welsh rivers. The Foundation believes that access arrangements should be voluntary and agreed amongst stakeholders: a free for all would not be in the best interests of any of the parties.
*Barrier removal and fish pass construction
*River habitat improvement and restoration
*Water quality improvements
*Fishery infrastructure improvements and marketing
*Management of invasive species
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Spring Brook regarded incorporating slight meanders in the river channel, removal of toe boards and the formation of wetland habitats through significant channel re-profiling. It is also proposed to introduce new bridge crossings and to refurbish existing crossing facilities. +
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Starting in September 2012, this project extends the type of work being carried out in Herefordshire's WHIP2 into Monmouthshire.
Olway
WUF's 2009 survey of the lower Usk tributaries found that the Olway, although clear of barriers, suffered from the effects of agricultural pollution. Water Framework Directive (WFD) failures for salmonid fish, macrophytes, phytobenthos and phosphate, in the presence of good levels of invertebrates, strongly suggest the effects of diffuse pollution, such as run off from farm yards, degraded habitat and elevated sediment levels. These are very common problems in the Olway catchment.
Success in mitigating diffuse pollution is derived from engagement with the entire farming community. The project will meet the parish councils and the local schools (which most of the farmers' children or grandchildren attend) will also be involved. With this level of engagement, the uptake and contribution to our challenge fund for farm works is significantly greater.
During MOAT, all the farmers within the Olway catchment will be visited and offered a free and confidential assessment. 50 will have full farm risk assessments and plans will be developed that will improve Water Body status. Where required, a quick and easy-to-access grant pool is available to bring about the proposed changes. Historically farm plans have focussed on other issues such as increasing outputs and diversity but seldom specifically water quality.
The project will reduce loadings of phosphate and fine sediment and the risk of diffuse pollution occurring from each farm, improving fisheries and water bodies downstream. At least 6km of riparian fencing will also be erected to reduce riparian erosion and restore in stream habitat.
Trothy
Surveys conducted by WUF and APEM of the Trothy (a lower Wye tributary, joining at Wyesham) found that the principal pressures are from agricultural diffuse and point source pollution, habitat degradation and elevated sediment levels as a result of unregulated stock access to river banks. There is also one significant barrier to fish migration on the main stem of the lower Trothy, with others on the lower reaches of the Cwmcarfan, Hendre and Wachan brooks, preventing them being used as trout and salmon nursery areas.
In the Trothy catchment the Environment Agency's officers are visiting all the farmers and will be responsible for reducing sediment and diffuse pollution while WUF will be responsible for restoring 7km of stream habitat on the upper Trothy as well as carrying out works to allow fish access.
Principal Sources of Project Funding.
WUF is very grateful to the funders who have made this project possible:
Wales Water Framework Directive Funding (EAW) £42,000
Welsh Government Ecosystem Resilience and Diversity Fund £40,000*
DCWW £75,000
EU Fisheries Fund £8,000
*£5,000 of this is reserved for invasive weeds in Wales
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Stream restoration measures in the Koningsdiep aim to create a larger habitat for the species present. The stream discharge was reduced through the creation of a meander, so that a culvert does not have to be closed to prevent downstream water damage. This culvert is important to ensure animals' ability to migrate in the area. A fish passage was created in the meander. Dead wood trunks and branches were introduced in the newly dug-out part to narrow the stream. +
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Stroomafwaarts van Döttekrö ontbreekt dynamiek in de Wilinkbeek omdat piekafvoer via Koppelleiding wordt afgevoerd. Veel trajecten hebben nog kunstmatig verhard talud en beekbodem als gevolg van puin en slakkenbestorting. Door deze puinbestorting weg te halen zal de beek een morfologisch afwisselende, kronkelende beek worden door bosstroken van tenminste 10 meter breed. Omdat erosie en sedimentatie vrij spel hebben, zulllen meanders, zandbanken en stroomkuilen zich vormen op telkens nieuwe plekken. De beek zal het grootste deel van het jaar afvoer hebben. Vanwege ligging in een vaak bosrijke omgeving hopen zich op rustige plekken in de beek bladeren, takken en boomstammen op. De beek is geheel optrekbaar voor vis. +
Structural tree line/invertebrate productivity for foraging bats, plus bat roost potential; backwater; scalloped bays for marginal plants. See also the project ‘Barnes Common’, a specific reedbed creation project.<br>
Best practice management plan for commuting, foraging and roosting bats; watervoles, fisheries benefits and flood defence benefits; improvement of bankside for marginal plants and/or fringing reeds, strengthening wild life corridor along brook for birds, water voles, grass snakes, rats etc; enhance bankside marginal vegetation and provide suitable habitat for birds, invertebrates, plus potential for dispersal for the BAP species from London wetland centre e.g. water vole, grass snake; readily accessible to the public; forage area for bats. +
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Sussex Flow Initiative is an innovative partnership project between the Sussex Wildlife Trust, the Environment Agency and the Woodland Trust, based in the River Ouse catchment in East Sussex. The project aims to promote and deliver Natural Flood Management (NFM) approaches helping to create a landscape that is more resilient to flooding, drought and climate change, and which delivers enhanced biodiversity and natural services. The project team has been working with local landowners, community groups, volunteers, the Adur and Ouse Catchment Partnership and many other stakeholders since 2012. +
Sustainable Management of Urban Rivers and Floodplains (SMURF) project shows that small-scale changes can make a significant improvement to urban rivers and floodplains. Two small river improvement schemes were undertaken on the river Tame. One in Perry Hall playing fields and one at Salford Park. The first one contains widening a section of river channel, reshaping of river-banks and creation of a low-level riverside terrace. The second site contains only the planting of marginal and riverside vegetation. +
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Svelgen Kraft (SK) use about 7% of the water that flows naturally in the Bortne-river for power production at the Svelgen I power plant. The measures carried out in the river were planned to mitigate the impacts of the power production and to enhance the growing and living conditions of anadromous fish in the river.
Mapping and improvement works were prioritized. This was driven by many factors and stakeholders, including landowners, the County Governor's environmental protection department, the EU's water framework directive and SK themselves. The renewal of the concessions for the Svelgen I and II power plants were in review and SK's goal is to practice environmentally sound water management. The survey was carried out by Uni Research Miljø LFI in 2016. Habitat conditions in the river were described and possible measures were suggested to improve the fish's growing and living conditions.
After clarification with landowners, other operators in the river and the relevant authorities, the physical work was carried out in autumn/winter 2016-17 by Machine3prenør1. Different types of measures were carried out over an approximately 2 km long stretch of river.
The following measures were done:
• Removal of migration barriers by building a “fish passage” with two ponds.
• Construction of flow deflectors to concentrate the stream of water in the river, which gives the fish easier migration paths in the case of low water levels.
• Laying of stone blocks and boulders in clusters to improve the fish's ability to hide.
• Digging of ditches and opening of a natural "fish tunnels" to drain water to migration paths at low water levels. +
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TRIP is a partnership project that will use CRF funds to manage restoration work to deliver habitat improvements in the Taw catchment. The partnership, led by the Westcountry Rivers Trust, has been carrying out river restoration and addressing the causes of Water Framework Directive issues together for many years.
The outcomes of the project are the following:
*Water quality management – More consistent supply of better water quality;
*Improved biodiversity - increased habitat biodiversity and renaturalisation;
*Social - Improved leisure environment for angling and recreation;
*Economic - Improved fisheries and spawning for commercial stocks;
*Flood attenuation and management - Increased wetted and wooded areas;
*Counteract climate change - Carbon sequestration through wetland sinks. +
TRIP is a partnership project that will use CRF funds to manage restoration work to deliver habitat improvements in the Taw catchment. The partnership, led by the Westcountry Rivers Trust, has been carrying out river restoration and addressing the causes of Water Framework Directive issues together for many years. +
Thackthwaite beck is a heavily modified watercourse. It has been straightened and dredged historically as part of previous land management actions. The beck has failing toe boards, and flood levees in the picture, which shows the extent to which the beck was trying to be retained in. This project began in 2018 to remove the flood levees and reprofile the adjacent land to allow better floodplain reconnection. Thackthwaite beck has a very large upland catchment in the Matterdale area and as such sees very high rainfall annually (2000mm+). The artificial works have been unable to cope with this rainfall and as such are failing.
We are now working with the majority of landowners on this catchment to implement multiple varied improvements to either deliver habitat, river restoration or natural flood management benefits. To date we have created 25 ponds or wetland areas, made habitat improvements to over 3660m of Thackthwaite beck, through either in stream habitat improvements or riparian improvement, such as floodplain connection or tree planting. We have planted over 100,000 trees in the catchment, either as hedgerows, riparian planting or in field trees.
Ullswater Catchment Management CIC are very proud of the fact that the majority of their work is on farmed land. We actively engage with the farming community and have developed trusted relationships with the farming community. The majority of our work is via invitation on farm to see what is possible. +
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Thames21 has been working with Enfield Council, The Environment Agency and Thames Water to improve the health of the Salmons Brook and its tributaries. Enfield has a separate sewage system, meaning that surface water eg. rain running off roads and wastewater are carried in two separate pipes. As a result, pollutants enter the Salmons Brook in a number of different ways. Misconnected plumbing contributes nutrients such as phosphates and nitrates and coliform bacteria, road run-off inputs oils and heavy metals such as zinc and copper, and household and industrial waste is dumped into surface water drains.
With great support from local people we’ve created Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), or ’rainscapes’ to intercept the pollution. As well as filtering pollutants out of water, the SuDS also help reduce local flood risk by slowing the flow, create wildlife habitats and provide new amenities for local people.
The Glenbrook is a tributary of the Salmons Brook. It flows through underground pipes for much of its length. Hidden away it is damaged, and when it first emerges above ground it is already very badly polluted. Six linked wetlands have been created here to filter pollutants from the stream. The flow is directed through each wetland, being successively cleaned as it is slowed through the basins. Plants use nutrients such as phosphate and nitrate to grow, removing them from the water and stopping them polluting the stream. Bacteria in the soil and root systems break down oils and heavy metals. Once established the planted wetlands not only clean the water, they also add a new dimension to the habitat mosaic for wildlife, and give interest and colour for those passing by.
The Glenbrook wetlands were complete in September 2014 after three months of construction. Local volunteers helped to plant the wetlands in September 2014 and again in March 2015. The system is designed so that in low flow conditions a series of weirs direct all baseflow into the wetlands, whilst in high flow conditions a large proportion of the flow continues downstream and only the first flush is treated. The headwater of the Glenbrook which feeds this system drains an urban catchment of 42 ha. In addition, 15 gullies have been redirected from the roads that surround the site into the wetland treatment system through a series of swales.
Works include:
*Overdeepened and incised channel bed raised
*Tree works and creation of 6 linked wetland basins, swales taking road run off into basins
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The 1,5 km long Szárazerdei river branch of the Danube was restored and a 1,5 ha open water surface was created in the special Slovakian-Hungarian Transboundary
Danube Wetland area (Szigetköz). Feeding and nesting conditions for targeted bird species were restored. +
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The 2016 Grantham Urban Rivers and Wetlands Plan, launched in 2016, identified numerous opportunities for river habitat improvements through the town, and Wyndham Park was selected as a pilot project to demonstrate the
benefits of urban river restoration to the people of Grantham and to show that projects like this, when carefully designed, do not increase flood risk.
The overall objectives of the Wyndham scheme were to improve the flow, reduce sedimentation and create habitats for river life, including native brown trout and white-clawed crayfish, as wells as insect pollinators. A narrower, more sinuous, 2-stage channel would increase the flow and reduce the accumulation of fine sediment on the river bed. +
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The Adour is an highly mobile, braided piedmont watercourse and constitutes one of the primary resources for alluvial materials in the Adour-Garonne basin. From the 1960s, large amounts of aggregates were extracted from both its main channel and associated floodplain. These activities caused a significant incision of the main channel, reducing the frequency of flooding into the floodplain, lowering the ground water table and cutting off ancient meanders, etc. Thus erosion of the banks occurred, which prompted the managing authorities to stabilise its cross-sectional and longitudinal profile: major embankments, weirs and protective structures for banks (covering 26% of banks) were subsequently constructed on the Adour.
In order to put a stop to isolated responses to demands for riverbank consolidation without the implementation of a global approach, the Institution Adour and the two local associations conducted a joint study of how to design an integrated, acceptable and sustainable management programme for the Adour’s mobility area. The consultation with stakeholders in the area led to the definition of a permissible mobility area covering 1,744 hectares. +
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The Adur Restoration of Physical Habitat Action plan (ARPHA) aims to improve riparian habitats, restore natural river and floodplain processes, reduce downstream flooding and improve biodiversity.
The latest success for this project is the removal of Shipley tilting gate. This Environment Agency owned and maintained structure on the Knepp estate on the Western arm of the Adur was preventing fish passage and impounding the river upstream.
In partnership with the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust (OART) the South Downs Fisheries and Biodiversity team led a project to remove the gate and stabilise the clay banks with brushwood terracing. This not only removed a significant barrier to fish passage but it has also helped restore natural river processes which will be beneficial to wider biodiversity as whole.
The Arun and Adur operations field team with specialist help from the Ouse operations field team were the main contractors. Using their experience of the Knepp restoration project just downstream they carried out a very professional job and were praised by the designers, OART and everyone else involved with the project.
The Arun and Adur Asset Performance Team helped with the engineering aspect as well as contractor management and finance.
This project has achieved Water Framework Directive (WFD) objectives for this waterbody and is an excellent example of another successful partnership project with OART. +
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The Afon Eden is located in north Wales and is a relatively unmodified river, mainly upland in character, of approximately 10km length. The Afon Eden supports the largest population of pearl mussels in Wales. Farming and forestry have been and continue to be the main activities in the catchment. Pressures affecting the Afon Eden population include diffuse pollution from agriculture, forestry, and highway sources. NRW currently describe the Afon Eden as unfavourable.
Pearls in Peril has restored 2.4km of in-stream habitat including gravel seeding to create fish spawning habitat and the placement of boulders from historic bank protection to re-instate river bed substrate and create habitat for freshwater mussels. To address diffuse pollution from forestry activities, the project removed 2ha of conifer regeneration, blocked 12km of forestry drains, fenced 4.5km to prevent livestock access and constructed 11 settlement ponds. This work is restoring 54ha of the Brynteg forestry block to wet woodland and blanket bog and is reducing the levels of diffuse pollution entering the Afon Eden.
The project is currently working to replace two fords with bridges. The fords are heavily used by vehicles, are a source of silt and present a pollution risk to the Eden. Pearls in Peril is also working closely with project partners, North and Mid Wales Trunk Road Agency, to install drainage interceptors at strategic locations that will collect runoff from the A470 carriageway and thus improve water quality in the Eden. +
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The Afon Merin is one of the principal tributaries of the Rheidol system, flowing from its upland SSSI catchment, through NRW managed Welsh Government estate Myherin woodland and onwards into the Rheidol Valley. A 3km section provided landscape scale intervention opportunities to "kick-start" natural processes to benefit biodiversity, water quality and quantity, and carbon sequestration.
The site offered the potential to undertake a pilot study of low cost high nature value interventions on Welsh Government Woodland Estate. While seemingly in a natural state, the rivers was incised and disconnected from the wider flood plain, with a lack of suitable gravels for the resident native Brown Trout population. Felling commenced in 2018 and some of the timber was used to begin ditch blocking and creating leaky dams within the main channel. Early observations showed that the results had been positive with the hydrological systems soon renaturalising within the valley floor, wet areas were developing and the main channel began to take on a more braided characteristic by occupying historic channels. In channel flow diversity increased markedly allowing a more complex sediment matrix to appear. +
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The Ain river flows for 195 km from its source in the Jura Mountains to its confluence with the Rhone, upstream of Lyon. Throughout its length, it presents very rich aquatic ecosystems.
Between 1945 and 1980, the river Ain was modified: from a braided riverbed to a single channel. This change is accelerated by the development of hydroelectric plants, bank protections, dikes ... thereby reducing the intake of solid materials from upstream and banks.
Due to the deficiency of solid materials, the incision is strongly stepped. Thus, the incision causes paving of the riverbed downstream of the structures and led to the disconnection of the hydraulic annexes with the alluvial groundwater.
The lower Ain valley is included in one of the Natura 2000 site and the restoration of the hydraulic annexes of the Ain River is carried out with a Life Project.
The Bellegarde hydraulic annex (a pond) is chosen because it is located in an area with a low flow dynamic and where the river is paved. The restoration of this pond may also allow a sediment recharge of the river.
The first step is the identification of the functional parts of the pond and the parts to restore. Cleaning and milling operations are carried out on a hectare. A lowering of the bottom of the pond is also realized. The materials removed, 18 000 m3 of pebbles, are directly redeposited in the riverbed. These will be taken by the current. The 6700 m3 of fine materials are scattered on the river banks. +