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B
The Beentjesgraven is a small waterway that discharges into the river IJssel. The water authority Drents Overijsselse Delta created more structural variation in this stream to improve their ecological quality and meet WFD criteria. The banks were divided into a green and a blue zone. In the blue zone, vegetation was regularly removed to ensure flow continuity. In the green zone, vegetation is removed less regularly and in a way that contributes to a varied flow structure. +
The Bijloop-Turfvaart stream system has been heavily modified for peat transport in the 15th century. Since then, it has been optimized for agricultural purposes. The low flow velocity, high water temperature and nutrient load cause a generally unfavourable ecological environment. The water authority has experimented with removing fewer water plants. To this end, they planted trees lining the stream. Various species were used: black alder, summer oak, hazel, rowan, blackthorn, ash and buckthorn. +
R
The Bjornesfjord was temporarily lowered in 1959 to provide water for hydroelectric powerplants (Noreverkene) in Norway. This resulted in permanent damage to several spawning grounds for trout, as the original spawning-substrates were removed. This meant that the substrate of the affected spawning areas became dominated by sand and that the areas were no longer suitable for spawning. To compensate for the damage caused to the fish stock in connection with the lowering of water in the fjord, an order was issued for the release of trout. In the period between 2002-2006, LFI Uni Miljø, in collaboration with NLB, Statkraft and NVE, restored spawning areas in the Bjornesfjord. The restoration was carried out by laying gravel in the outlet of Lågaros, in the Nøresundet and Meinsbusundet. These areas had been adversely affected by the lowering of the fjord in 1959.
Subsequent surveys in 2007 and 2013 show that the restoration worked as intended, with spawning occurring each year on the newly established spawning grounds. The measures, therefore, helped to bring spawning conditions towards the natural state that existed before the lowering. +
B
The Blauwe Kamer (Blue Room, named after a farm that stood in the area) was one of the first projects, in 1992, in line with the ideas of Plan Ooievaar (http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_Ooievaar, Dutch), which can be seen as a predecessor for the Room for the River program.
The first measure that was taken was to take away part of the summer quay, restoring the natural dynamics of the floodplain, thereby bringing back the natural river landscape. The low-lying area now becomes inundated even with a slight increase of the water level. This, together with the introduction of large herbivores, konik horses and galloway cattle, has led to the emergence of a more diverse landscape.
In 2002 the Grebbeberg, the south side of the Utrecht Hill Ridge is connected to the Blauwe Kamer. As part of the National Ecological Network is the Blauwe Kamer part of a project where the Utrecht Ridge, the Veluwe and the river banks of the Meuse and Waal get connected with each other. For this purpose a number of barriers such as the N225 provincial road still need to be resolved. +
The Boldersbeek is a small tributary of the Groenlose Slinge. In 1999, two retention basins were created in this stream's catchment. The stream flows through one of these basins and next to the other basin. +
F
The Bottesford Beck Linear Park Bridleway project is situated on the southern edge of Scunthorpe. The project was awarded £74,000 to create approximately 3.3 km of new bridleway running alongside Bottesford Beck and 1.5 km of new footpath circling the lake in the newly designated Ashbyville Local Nature Reserve. The project was delivered by a close partnership between North Lincolnshire Council and Friends of the Beck action group. Friends of the Beck are a strongly motivated volunteer group who work closely with the Council and Environment Agency to improve the environment around Bottesford Beck including cleaning out the riverbed, planting bulbs, clearing litter and developing flood protection through the building of rain gardens and ponds. Better public access to the Beck and its green space has been a long term goal of the Friends whose members have worked tirelessly to make the project happen. The new bridleway will form a link in the newly developed Ironstone Way long distance footpath and is a strategic addition to the Rights of Way network in Scunthorpe. Already it is becoming well used by walkers, riders and cyclists wishing to enjoy the tranquillity of this newly accessible green space on the edge of the town. This is a triumphant result for the hard work of the Friends of the Beck whose vision was to create Bottesford Beck Linear Park with the new Right of Way as its centrepiece. <br>
Visit the Friends of Bottesford Beck Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Friends-of-Bottesford-Beck-2014893835451680/ <br>
Beck Lane website: Discover Bottesford Beck - http://www.becklane.co.uk/site/ +
T
The Bowmont Water is a tributary of the River Tweed. The valley has a history of significant flood events. Following extreme floods in 2008 and 2009, the Tweed Forum (through the Cheviot Futures initiative) began to look at more natural ways to tackle coarse sediment problems and manage flood risk. Measures such as bank protection engineered log jams (ELJs), bar apex ELJs and flow restrictors have been installed in the catchment. Alongside this, large areas of trees have been planted on the floodplains of the catchment coupled with pockets of upland planting. Over the 4-year period of monitoring, 78 leaky barrier structures have been installed to capture and stabilise sediment and attenuate flows. A total of 53ha of native riparian and floodplain forest have been planted. +
B
The Bristol Frome Diffuse Pollution Project is a project led by Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) from June 2015 – March 2016, as part of the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership. The project has been conducted in partnership with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) South West and the farmers and landowners along the Ladden Brook and Bradley Brook which form the headwaters of the Bristol Frome. It has been driven by Water Framework Directive classifications that have shown a need to identify issues and take actions to contribute towards a reduction in the levels of sediment and nutrients entering the Bristol Frome and its tributaries.
Reports commissioned by the Environment Agency suggested that a focus on agricultural practices within the streams of the upper Bristol Frome catchment should be carried out as a priority and pre-requisite to further improvement works. Therefore, the Bristol Frome Diffuse Pollution Project chose to focus on two agriculture dominated brooks, The Ladden and Bradley Brooks in order to achieve the overall aim of reducing nutrient and sediment inputs from diffuse agricultural sources.
Baseline and wet weather monitoring, farmer engagement and advisory visits, walkover surveys and past Environment Agency data was used to assess areas for capital improvements to be made that would have the greatest impact for the timescale and funding available. These were decided upon as fencing to reduce bank erosion and an in-ditch wetland to separate clean water from dirty yard run-off that was previously entering the brook. +
R
The Brosses weir was completely destroyed and the rubble was removed, except for a few large rocks left in the bed, where the weir once stood. During the works, the river was temporarily diverted to avoid the fine sediment being washed away. The dissipation pool of the weir served as a sedimentation pool. A rescue fishing campaign was undertaken prior to the works to limit the impact on the fish population. +
B
The Bures Mill fish by-pass was installed to allow fish passage upstream of the Bures Mill automatic gate on the River Stour downstream of Lamarsh +
The Burn of Mosset is a small gravel bed stream draining an area of 49km2. A Tributary of the River Findhorn, it flows north through the town of Forres before entering Findhorn bay. The town of Forres has a long history of flooding from the burn, with six flood events causing serious damage to property or disruption in the last fifty years.
The new Flood Alleviation Scheme (FAS) took two years to complete. It included the construction of an earth-filled embankment dam designed to allow for discharges up to 8.5 m3/s to flow through Forres, with excess floodwater temporarily stored behind the dam.
In addition to this, the upstream storage area has been designed to create an extensive natural sediment accretion zone (for sand, gravel and large wood). This will reduce the risk of sediment or other debris blocking the dam control structure. The scheme also aimed to create a mosaic of river and floodplain habitats, by working with natural processes to develop a multi-thread (anabranched) system.
This was achieved by breaching the existing embanked channel which ran around a field boundary at two points, allowing flow to spill out across the open field, before re-joining the original channel just upstream of the dam. Tress were planted across the site to create a wet woodland habitat.
This project is part of the UK River Restoration Center's manual of river restoration techniques (update due to be published in late 2013). +
The Buulder Aa is connected to the Grote Aa, Bosloop and Strijpe Aa, all of which are small lowland streams on a sandy substrate. Dead wood packages were introduced at several locations in the stream. This tends to increase variation in streamflow and substrate, which often promotes biodiversity. +
The Buurserbeek is now a slow-flowing, strongly normalized stream. It is partially located in an agricultural area, but most of the stream flows through woods are natural areas (e.g. Buurserzand and the woods east of Haaksbergen) and/or has woody vegetation on its banks. A 4 meter wide maintenance path runs parallel to most of the stream and the entire stream runs between embankments or high grounds. Upstream of the Twenteroute, the stream carries water most of the year and in most places, the flow velocity is sufficient to support flow-loving fish. Downstream of the Twenteroute, the discharge mostly stops in summer, causing the stream to become stagnant. There is intensive maintenance in the reaches downstream of Braambrug. The Buurserbeek does not yet meet its ecological targets. The stream is too deep and has insufficient variation in structure. Nutrient levels remain to high in the Buurserbeek as well. This is mostly caused by upstream pollution in Germany.
The stream can meander freely within its embankments. The stream is shallow and wide and features both sand bars and stream pits, as well as dead wood and a local lush aquatic vegetation. Most of the stream corridor (80%) is wooded. The Buurserbeek is completely accessible to fish.
Water authority Rijn en IJssel introduced tree stems into the stream to replace the stone cascades that used to be there. In another stretch of the stream, a maintenance path was removed to make the stream wider and shallower. +
C
The CCG is a 9km linear park through East Belfast following the course of the Connswater, Knock and Loop Rivers, revitalising the polluted Connswater Rivers system. Physical and environment improvements are two elements of a much more ambitious project as the CCG is really about people, opportunities, health and quality of life. CCG aims to reconnect the communities of East Belfast and bring the area’s rivers back to life as focal points and community assets by creating vibrant, attractive, sage and accessible parkland for leisure, recreation, events and activities.
The CCG has created a vibrant, attractive, and safe parkland for leisure and recreation, improving the lives of 40,000 residents, encouraging healthier and more active communities through;
• 16km of continuous cycle and walkway
• 7 new and 5 refurbished bridge connections
• 2 new play parks and MUGA pitches
• Increased tourism and investment from a new civic square featuring 7 Narnia themed sculptures
• 1,105 new native trees, 17,434m2 native wildflower, 1,751m2 of bulbs and 7,267 new shrubs
• £11m of added flood protection to 1,700 local properties
• Meetings with homeowners, businesses and private land owners, public stakeholder forums and programmes and activities with schools, youth groups, community groups and visitors. +
F
The Caldés is an arroyo located in NE of Spain, in the Besos' Basin. The work area is located in the village of Palau-solitá, near Barcelona. The reach has a length of 5.900 meters and about 34,5 has. As the work area is an urban space, it's important for the local population the accessibility and programs to bring to the attention of the people.
The project of fluvial improvement is aimed to develop and increase the riparian communities in order to ameliorate water quality. There also are local problems that are necessary to solve: local impacts, banks erosion, rip-raps that are obsoletes... One of the main objectives is to improve the quality of the fluvial landscape.
The project includes removal of exotic plants (Arundo donax, Cortadelia seollana…); riparian tree planting with non exotic plants; creation of new habitats for amphibian communities. New bio-engineering techniques are used to develop and help these riparian communities.
The works started in March 2009 and finished in November 2009. All the works were carried out by Natualea Conservació, S.L., a local enterprise. +
R
The Canche is a small 90 kilometers long river, which sources are at Gouy-en-Ternois , at an altitude of 135 m. It flows into the English Channel 20 km north of the Somme bay.
Its watershed is mainly composed of meadows and wooded areas. The majority of tributaries (Ternoise , Planquette, Créquoise Bras de Bronne, Course, Dordogne and Huitrepin) lie on its right side. These rivers offer a variety of habitats suitable for spawning and development of migratory fish. They still host salmon, sea trout, eel, river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) and sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus).
The Canche has been classified as "migratory fish watercourse" since 1986 , and its tributaries have been since 1997. However, the Canche basin presents many barriers to flow and fish migration. 151 structures were identified and 77 are impassable by migratory fish. These are weirs of former flour mills, or for irrigation, or sluices. In addition to their effects on blocking fish migration, these barriers contribute to the degradation of aquatic habitats.
Streams classified by the prefect, under Article L.432 -6 of the Environmental Code, had to ensure continuity for fish within a period of five years after the publication of the decree. The departmental angling federation started in 1999 the implementation of measures to make some barriers compliant. At the end of 2002 , the “syndicat mixte pour le SAGE de la Canche" (grouping of local administrations having the responsibility to implement the Canche basin plan) to take a specific jurisdiction to ensure the project management of removal or improvement of barriers along the Canche and its tributaries. These new statutes allow the union to trigger several removal operations, following a list of priorities defined in the 2005. After identifying the owners and upstream/ downstream stakeholders , meetings were held with the water police and Onema to inform residents and owners on their rights and obligations. The organization of field visits identified uses, management approaches, physical condition, historical , tourism and economic value of the structures . For each of them, a comprehensive analysis allowed to define the type of measures to be implemented.
So far, twenty structures without economic interest were tackled by the restoration measures. Most of them consisted in dismantling sluices. When the remaining sill was still an impassable obstacle even without the sluices, additional works, e.g. fish passes, were made. In some cases, restoration of the riverbed was carried out, particularly when the riverbed had been displaced.
C
The Carnon River catchment is located in a region of Cornwall historically renowned for tin and copper mining activities. It flows through an area described in the 19th century as ‘the richest square mile anywhere on earth’ and is now part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site http://www.cornish-mining.org.uk/areas-places-activities/gwennap-kennall-vale-and-perran-foundry). Mining in the catchment started with simple tin streaming to exploit the alluvial tin deposits along the river. By the early 18th century, the area became one of the most heavily mined, with deep workings across the region exploring the rich mineral lodes for tin, copper, arsenic, silver and lead. Some of the workings associated with Wheal Jane and Mount Wellington mines were extended underneath the river itself at a very shallow depth – just a few metres below the surface.
The entire length of the river is impacted by historic mining, as are both major tributaries, with numerous individual sources. The headwaters around Chacewater contain several historic mining and processing sites, notably Wheal Daniel. Further downstream at Twelveheads, the St Day Stream joins, carrying drainage from the Wheal Maid mine and tailings dam as well as other mineworkings in the Poldice Valley. Below Twelveheads, the County Adit discharges into the Carnon. This is not associated with one particular mine, rather it drains a huge heavily mined area to the west of the river. Construction of the Great County Adit started in 1748, and it is made up of a network of tunnels nearly 40 miles in length, draining over 100 individual mines. Recent data suggest County Adit contributes 70-80% of downstream loadings of
cadmium, nickel, copper and zinc, and effectively 100% of arsenic and iron. The average annual loads from the adit are: Cd 20 kg; Ni 570 kg; As 1,500 kg; Cu 1,600 kg; Zn 13,700 kg; Fe 80,000 kg.
Further downstream, the biggest tributary, the Hicks Mill Stream, enters the main Carnon. This drains a very heavily mined area on the outskirts of Redruth and contributes 20-25% of loadings of cadmium, copper and zinc. Also here at Bissoe is the Wheal Jane mine site and tailings dam. Wheal Jane was the last operating mine in the area, but when it finally closed in 1991, the dewatering pumps were removed and the workings flooded. In January 1992 a massive uncontrolled release of highly acidic minewater occurred through the Nangiles adit portal. This became one of the most notorious pollution incidents in South West history with a large area of the Fal Estuary stained bright orange by the resultant plume. Although the effect was determined to be short-term, options for long term treatment of the Wheal Jane minewaters needed to be explored. Passive treatment was trialled but ultimately found to be inadequate and since 2000, a full scale treatment plant has operated at the mine site, discharging treated minewater into the Carnon via the Clemmows Stream. This system is managed by the Coal Authority on behalf of Defra at a cost of £1.5m per year.
The whole river length from headwaters to tidal limit fails the environmental quality standards (EQS) for cadmium, nickel, arsenic, copper, zinc and iron, and so fails to achieve good status for the South West River Basin Management Plan. Typical annual average magnitude of failure in the Carnon at the compliance monitoring site at Bissoe are:
• Cd = 22x EQS
• Ni = 4x EQS
• Cu = 153x EQS
• Zn = 103x EQS
• Fe = 2x EQS
Invertebrate surveys here exhibit ‘poor’ or ‘bad’ status. The river is effectively dead in terms of ecology.
Remediation
Treatment and management of the Wheal Jane minewaters will continue under the Coal Authority. We're working with the Coal Authority to explore the feasibility of treating some of the County Adit discharge in the existing Wheal Jane system, as well as other options for improving water quality in the Carnon in the medium to long term. It is possible that because of the extent, number and nature of other sources within the catchment, further measures may be deemed technically and/or financially unfeasible.
F
The Carrión river restoration located in Fresno del Río and Pino del Río (Palencia) covered a river reach with maximum flows between 218 and 527 m3/s, which is regulated by Camporredondo and Compuerto dams. The minimum flow is about 2 m3/s, set by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Duero. The concern about this reach was due to shore erosion and the lack of refuge for trout.
In order to mitigate the impact of flow regulation and to improve the aquatic habitat for fish, several actions took place both instream and at the riparian zone: Boulders (limestone) were placed in the riverbed for improve the instream structure and habitat diversity; reforestation of the margins with four live fences; reforestation with single stakes; plantation of 170 stakes (75 % Salix fragilis and 25% of Salix purpurea and Salix atrocinerea); construction of a wing deflector consisting of stones, logs, and branch cuttings of willow and aquatic plants for its stabilization; plantation of branch cuttings and stakes of willow at stable margins to give shading and shelter for the trouts.
The effectiveness of the project was monitored by the Junta de Castilla y León almost until 1999. The evolution of trout population was measured with periodic samplings (electrofishing). +
K
The Channel of Deurne and the parallel Helenavaart transport water from the river Meuse. The channels were originally dug out to facilitate peat transport and now mainly serve to maintain a sufficiently high water level in the surrounding area. Floating debris caused flooding problems in downstream areas. Rather than mowing all the vegetation, the water authority decided to only mow a 4 meter wide strip of the main channel. +
G
The Chapel Beck (main river) flows through Guisborough (Map 1) and is fed by a number of small tributaries (ordinary watercourses). There is significant modelled flood risk from the chapel beck but few instances of actual flooding, although the tributaries have caused flooding in the past. The project has so far determined that the reason for the lack of flooding from the beck is likely to be a large number of unaccounted for natural and unintentionally created attenuations upstream of the town. The project is seeking to formalise and improve these existing attenuations and to create further attenuations to reduce future flood risk, while creating 5ha of water dependent habitat.
Installing 15,000m3 of flood water storage in the catchment could reduce the 100-year peak flow by 10.9% (2m3s-1).
The published flood map cannot take account of the man-made attenuations present in the catchment because there is no guarantee that these will perform this inadvertent flood water storage function in perpetuity. Only if the features are formalised as flood risk assets and maintained can they be considered when estimating the actual flood risk to homes in Guisborough. +