Property:Project summary
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This is a property of type Text.
C
Bank reprofiling on Yeading Brook East arm. Historic project, prior to LRAP +
W
Bank stabilisation and rural diffuse pollution prevention +
B
Barney Beck, in the Humber River Basin District, is located to the west of Richmond, North Yorkshire in upper Swaledale.The area was mined for lead, zinc and barium between 1700 and 1900. Cadmium occurs as a significant impurity in the lead-zinc minerals. The mineralisation occurs along vertical faults in the Carboniferous Limestone and Millstone Grit rocks at Barney Beck and adjoining areas of Swaledale in Yorkshire, and forms part of the North Pennine Orefield.
There is an extensive legacy of metal mining at Barney Beck including many shafts, adits and drainage levels with several smelters and associated ore dressing floors. There are large areas of un-vegetated spoil and bare rock exposed in deep hushes. Some spoil tips, such as at Old Gang Smelt Mill, have steep unstable slopes that are being constantly eroded at the base by Barney Beck. Barney Beck catchment (17sq.km) is entirely within the Yorkshire Dales National Park and almost all of the catchment is co-designated as SSSI, SAC and SPA with some scheduled Ancient Woodland in the valley bottom above Healaugh village. All of the mine site buildings are derelict, but there are 2 Scheduled Ancient Monuments comprising the Old Gang Smelt Mill and Surrender Smelt Mill complexes. Barras End Lead Mine is listed on the MINING WASTE DIRECTIVE INVENTORY.
There are 13 adits/levels identified in the catchment, and 2 of these, Hard Level and Spence Level, were purposely constructed as drainage levels and still have permanent discharge flows, with water containing high concentrations of lead, zinc and cadmium entering Barney Beck.
A number of single sampling events to investigate metal pollution of Barney Beck and to establish the Mining Waste Directive inventory were carried out by the Environment Agency and Hull University in 2010 and 2011. These studies all showed concentrations of Pb, Zn and Cd above their respective EQS values of 7.2, 50, and 0.09ug/L (Zn and Cd are hardness based), while Cu, Fe and Mn concentrations were acceptable. Based on the above findings, a catchment characterisation programme was implemented in 2012-2013 using Defra funding, provided to investigate water pollution from abandoned metal mines. This project comprised monthly water quality sampling at 9 locations with simultaneous spot flow gauging at 6 locations including the Hard Level and Spence Level discharges. The water quality results showed that the discharge from Hard Level contained the highest metal concentrations, with Pb at 130ug/L; Zn at 530ug/L and Cd at 4ug/L
Metal loading was calculated from the concentration and flow data. When metal loadings were examined under different flow conditions, the contribution from the point source adit discharges were more significant during low flows, but less so in high flow conditions, when diffuse sources from spoil tips and re-suspension of contaminated sediments become more significant in the overall metal loading to
Barney Beck and entering the River Swale.
The Environment Agency has collaborated with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and funded a heritage survey report, to look at options for remediation and reduction of metal pollution of Barney Beck that do not adversely affect the integrity of the Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
Overview of the impact of metal mining at Barney Beck:
Length of watercourse affected 7km to confluence with River Swale
Average flow at the Swale confluence 110L/s
Average metal concentrations (ug/L): Pb = 80 Zn = 130 Cd = 1.1
Average metal loading (kg/year): Pb = 500 Zn = 700 Cd = 6
Water body WFD status in 2009: Ecology = Good Chemistry = DNRA
Benefits of remediation
The River Swale will be protected from major metal pollution sources
Scheduled Ancient Monuments will not be damaged by any remedial actions
Developing partnerships with important stakeholders (YDNPA and Coal Authority) and using our
position as an influential advisor to deliver shared environmental outcomes
Contribute towards achieving Good Ecological and Chemical Status under WFD
Basically, the main points of the proyect are: 1) Monitoring the species of birds and 2) enviromental awareness and improvement of enviromental quality +
T
Beavers naturally build dams, and thus slow down the water flow in the catchment area where they live.
One area where this has occurred is the protected area Bor, which is located near the village Podspády. Beavers
living on the side of the tributaries of Javorinka created weirs, which slowed surface runoff and allowed the
water to saturated the surrounding soil profile.
The benefit of reducing the water runoff is that the risk for drought would be lower, which would lead to a more
stable habitat, and thus more favourable conditions for flora and fauna.
Because this is a naturally occurring phenomenon, the constructions did not need any legal permission. These
constructions have no time limit, but depend on the community of beavers and access to woody materials in
the river basin. +
S
Before the restoration project, the Quaggy at Sutcliffe Park was a forgotten river. It flowed underground through a concrete channel, unnoticed and providing little habitat for wildlife.
By bringing the Quaggy out of its culvert, a meandering river has been reborn. Now, the river can overflow into the park using it as a flood storage area.
And at other times, the park is there for local communities to enjoy. A network of pathways and viewing points criss-cross the park. Within the wetland areas, there are wooden boardwalks making the area more accessible for prams and wheelchairs. It is a habitat for a huge variety of plants and animals, and features wildflower meadows, wetland areas, reed beds, lakes and ponds.
The river is now a place where wildlife can thrive - from emperor dragonflies and wetland birds, to amphibians and butterflies. Several protected species have now made it their home, including the reed warbler and little grebe. The park has quickly become an important area of natural beauty and a recreational site for the local community.
It’s making a major contribution to the quality of life for local residents. Natural environments encourage regular physical activity, reduce the risk of serious diseases and improve mental well-being. +
Between 2003 and 2009, the National Trust restored South Milton Sands in Devon (Photo 1 and Map 1), a heavily used 4ha sand dune site with a small beach, a café and extensive car parking. The wooden piling defences constructed in 1990 were at the end of their lifespan and thought unsustainable given the erosion at the site. The designed scheme removed the failing defences and reprofiled the dunes, which allowed the dunes to erode and build according to natural processes. Once groundwork was completed, local people helped plant the marram grass on the dunes. Following consultation, the National Trust agreed to maintain a small area of defence to an existing slipway for a 10-year period. The project was viewed as a success.
A storm on 14 February 2014 eroded about 15m of the sand dunes and lowered beach levels by some 2m. The southern end of the access track and the slipway were undermined. Boardwalks to access the beach were broken. The dune ridge was overtopped but did not breach. However the loss of two-thirds of the dune ridge (including the area reinstated and revegetated in 2009) made the frontage highly vulnerable to breach in a future storm.
The National Trust has reinstated the access road and slipway, but the dunes cannot be sustained in their current location. The 20-year erosion line in the Shoreline Management Plan passes through the car park and close to the café. Sea level rise and increased storminess will make the existing defence line unsustainable.
National Trust wants a way forward that is sustainable and works with natural processes in accordance with its Shifting Shores policy. The current car park and access road are unsustainable in the long term and alternatives will be investigated. These need to be the subject of public engagement and the National Trust intends to consider the options.
The dunes might be sustainable in a more landward location. The future of the wetland and associated outfall also needs to be considered. If the outfall is removed, water levels will likely increase and water will find its own route to the beach, either by percolation or a (seasonal) surface channel through (rolled back) dunes. This approach could create a mosaic of dune and wetland habitat.
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Between the municipalities of Murat and Albepierre-Bredons the biological and morphological continuity of river Alagnon was interrupted by a weir for the water supply of a mill. The intake structure was 2,7 m high and 26,5 m wide. A fish pass with limited funcionality hindered the fish migration. On the left bank there is a campsite and meadows on the right.
The restoration of the fish continuity of the Alagnon is one of the main objectives of the River Alagnon 2001-2007 contract, supported by the Syndicat Intercommunal de Gestion de l’ALagnon (SIGAL).
The weir wasn’t used anymore and in 2008 the removal works begun, the riverbed was terraced and bank protections were put in place to prevent bank erosion at the campsite side. The banks were reshaped and revegeteted.
After the works were completed morphological adjustments have already been observed (in the work area, the riverbed is lowered by 1.1 m which seems to be close to equilibrium). At 260 m downstream, at the Stalapos bridge, deposits of materials cause an elevation close to 60 cm. At the railway bridge (360 m upstream of the work) and 800 meters downstream of the weir removed no significant effect was observed.
The first counts of spawning trout show a decrease in the work area; instead, an increase is observed upstream. The immediate impact of the work on trout populations are already canceled by the extremely rapid recolonization upstream. +
B
Biomura LIFE06NAT/SI/000066
The BIOMURA project funded by the EU LIFE NATURA 2006 is among the first projects aiming at restoration of the degraded river morphology in Slovenia. Project goals was improvement of riparian and adjacent riverine habitats, protection of targeted endangered species and indirect implications for preservation of other animal and plant species and their habitats, increase of biodiversity and reservation of the natural landscape.
The area covered by the project has a surface of 1520 ha and is part of the Natura 2000 (SPA: SI5000010, pSCI: SI3000215). The area lies within high water protection embankments of the Mura River, between the villages of Bakovci, Dokležovje, Ižakovci, Melinci, Bunčani, Veržej, Krapje and Mota.
Intensive water use, activities in the river and riverside space and the change of land use in the Mura River catchment (chain of hydropower plants on the Mura in Austria, flood protection structures and facilities, water supply, management of agricultural land, urban development) have considerably altered the river space. At the border between Slovenia and Austria, the river bed of the Mura River has deepened in the last decades (by as much as 1.5 m; by 33 cm on average). This has changed the hydrological features of the Mura wetlands.
Although the Mura River has been straightened and the meanders cut-across, leaving behind oxbows, parts of the old channel are still recharged by the river, precipitation and groundwater. The processes of more relaxed, less controlled dynamics of the water flow, with a more frequent and easily spotted bank erosion, natural sediment transport and deposition, frequent flooding, river branches and oxbows, are especially present downstream of Veržej. The Mura river space in Slovenia, and at the reach bordering Croatia, is therefore among the richest ecosystems in Slovenia.
Proposed measures and actions:
(C1) connecting the main river channel with the side branches;
(C2) establishing conditions for appropriate water level at the site of the water inflow into side branches (more frequent and higher water level in the main channel, which enables the inflow of water into side branches at average and lower discharges);
(C3) widening of the main channel where erosion channel banks and gravel bars will be formed;
(C4) presentation of sustainable alluvial forest maintenance;
(D1) sustainable maintenance (restoration) of side branches;
(D2) establishing a system of smaller inflow/ outflow structures and mechanisms (wooden lock lifters, openings) in the chosen sites in the area of oxbow lakes and branches;
(E7) local information centre Mota;
(E8) regional promotional centre in Murska Sobota;
(E9) information trail Veržej – Ižakovci (E1-E6, E10-E12), workshops, promotional and informational actions and sources: webpage, information bulletins, brochure, film.
The activities of the BIOMURA project aimed at improvement of growing conditions for 4 habitats from the Habitats Directive: Alnus glutinosa in Fraxinus excelsior, (Alno-Padion, Alnion incanae, Salicion albae); Quercus robur, Ulmus laevis in Ulmus minor, Fraxinus excelsior ali Fraxinus angustifolia; Rununculion fluitantis in Callitricho-Batrachion; Hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities of plains and of the montane to alpine levels. The conservation of targeted species for more than a third of the Natura 2000 qualification species on the Mura river should be ensured. Targeted species from that Annex II to the Habitats Directive include: 1 butterfly species (Callimorpha quadripunctaria), 1 amphibian species (Bombina bombina), 1 dragonfly species (Ophiogomphus cecilia) and 5 fish species (Misgurnus fossilis, Rhodeus sericeus amarus, Gymnocephalus schraetzer, Umbra krameri, Aspius aspius). Also, it is assumed that the living conditions of 29 other species of birds, butterflies, dragonflies, amphibians, reptiles and mammals improved.
Blackbrook in St Helens, Merseyside, experiences repeat flooding from a combination of main river and surface water sources. There are 18 properties at flood risk, 3 of which are businesses; a major truck A-road is also at risk. The current flood risk is high.
Blackbrook has a 5% chance of flooding in any given year and sits in a low-lying bowl at the confluence of 5 rapid response catchments whose upstream area is 21km2. The property level protection put in place has had limited success, partly due to a failure in its operation at the time of the last flood (26 December 2016). Flooding also occurred on 28–29 October 2000 and 24–26 September 2012.
Capital solutions to reduce the flood risk are prohibitively expensive, as culvert enlarging would be required to reduce the flow constriction. Such considerable capital interventions do not qualify for full funding under HM Treasury rules on cost–benefitratios. Significant additional funding would therefore be required. +
Borrowash fish pass is the largest in the Midlands region to date. It is located at Borrowash on the River Derwent, a major tributary of the River Trent in Derbyshire. In total it took twelve months to complete the 2.7m wide three stage Larinier design at a total cost of £650,000.
The overall aim was to increase fish passage, by enabling access to habitats both up and downstream of the weir. This project is part of a wider range of fish passage improvements planned for the East Midlands region, as restrictions to free fish passage are now seen as the main factor limiting fish stocks within the Trent catchment. There are currently nine proposed sites including Church Wilne and Whatstandwell gauging weirs. Partners involved include the Environment Agency, the Trent Rivers Trust and Derby County Council, as well as local angling clubs and the local community. The long term aim of this catchment scale project is to improve the river’s status under the Water Framework Directive.
The Borrowash pass is the first artificial barrier on the River Derwent, and therefore of strategic importance to improve longitudinal connectivity for fish, sediment, invertebrates and nutrients within the catchment. In 2010 salmon were seen on the Derwent for the first time in 200 years, however the pass will also benefit other species specifically brown trout, chub, dace, minnows, eels and lamprey . Boosting fish stocks will also improve angling opportunities in the local area.
The River Restoration Centre would like to thank the Environment Agency for providing the information and photographs for this case study. +
S
Borrowdale Moss is an extensive area of blanket bog occupying the head of Borrowdale and the heads of the adjacent valleys of Crookdale and Bannisdale, immediately south of the large blanket bogs of the Shap Fells SSSI. Whilst scattered patches of intact blanket bog remain over the majority of the site extensive linear peat hags have left an undulating surface with extensive species-poor vegetation on eroded sections and exposed dry peat.
The Borrowdale Moss Peatland Restoration project is designed to address diffuse pollution issues concerning the River Sprint (a tributary of the Kent) and Borrow Beck (a tributary of the Lune). In particular, this project will address the issue of degraded peatland in the headwaters. Drain-blocking and re-vegetation of bare peat has been shown to reduce particulate organic carbon (POC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) downstream, reduce carbon loss and there is growing evidence of a hydrological response changing to a less ‘flashy’ character. Peatland restoration therefore benefits not only peatland soils, vegetation and hydrological ecosystem services but also stream water quality and biodiversity downstream.
Through an extensive restoration programme involving grip blocking, re-profiling and re-vegetation of bare peat over a site greater than 800 hectares, this project will address key diffuse pollution issues in the headwaters of a number of watercourses. The project aims to move from moderate to good the River Sprint and to ensure no deterioration of Borrow Beck from good water body status. There is a real danger that unless the degraded and eroded peat on the blanket bog at the head of this valley is not addressed, that the consequences on water quality will continue to rise. The restoration will also complement and help the integrity of the adjoining Shap Fells SSSI and Lake District High Fells SAC that is currently undergoing similar works. A walkover of the site has shown that the area is extensively ‘hagged and gullied’ with areas of bare peat. Aerial photographs have identified extensive grip systems.
This project, in combination with River Restoration Strategy works being undertaken by partners, will enable good status to be achieved by tackling reasons for failure (diffuse pollution), particularly in the form of sediments. It will also meet targets for flood alleviation.
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Boscastle village is located in a steep sided and narrow valley through which the River Valency flows down to the harbour. In 2004 an intense storm centred over the small wooded catchment caused massive erosion of sediment and river-side trees. This,combined with high flows, inundated the village with water and debris causing extensive damage.
Enlargement of the river channel offered the only viable way to reduce flood risk and improve the flood capacity and sediment conveyance of the river. The scheme aimed to avoid producing a deep geometrically uniform’channel. The channel was designed in such a way that it simulated the natural features found higher up in the undisturbed reaches of the river by engineering features into the excavated bedrock.
A detailed topographical survey of the longitudinal profile of the river was an important design tool. This enabled a new, lower bed gradient to be superimposed onto the original one, giving the ‘best fit’ with the levels upstream and downstream of the reach.
The natural valley slope at Boscastle is 1 in 45 and the channel bed upstream of the village has a depth of approximately 2.5m. Extending this channel depth down through the village to the harbour, the longitudinal section showed the original bed to
be typically 1 metre higher. This helped to explain the loss of capacity through the village and its propensity to flood. Bed regrading to this 2.5m depth profile was therefore considered feasible (Figure 6.4.2).
The design of the cross section and longitudinal profile of the lowered bed involved close study of the natural characteristics of the rock visible in the upper river and in the harbour. The rock featured strong bedding planes that typically dip from left
to right bank, angled downstream at about 45°. It had vertical fracture lines as well as regular intrusions of much harder quartz. Concept drawings were provided to show how the rock was to be removed. An engineer worked closely with machine operators to obtain the desired result of the left side sloping with the dip and the right side vertical along the fractures. Both sides were zig-zagged to stay within the'character' stone retaining walls.
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Bowston weir is the first weir to be removed on the River Kent Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation (SSSI/SAC). Bowston weir removal forms part of the Cumbria River Restoration Strategy (CRRS) which aims to restore the three Cumbrian SSSI/SAC rivers to their natural form and function and help them achieve Favourable Condition. Additional benefits include improved migration, biodiversity net gain, improved navigation and a reduced flood risk to local residents. +
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Break out concrete wall on the nature reserve side of the river and re-grade the river bank to provide a wide shelf or berm. This berm will be inundated by water several times a year, thus restoring a strip of wet meadowland. Allow more natural fluvial geomorphological processes to occur and increase habitat. (See attached 3x Drawings at end of this form). The small nature reserve, owned by Lewisham Council, lies adjacent to the Quaggy and once formed part of an extensive water meadows system. Sadly, the river has been realigned and set in concrete. Though part of the old natural river channel passes through the nature reserve, it is dry and the site has lost its wetland characteristics. Enhancement would improve the biodiversity and interest of the nature reserve, reconnect river with ground and create a strip of wetland meadow. +
C
Break river out of concrete channel, re-profile creating natural banks. Replace straightened course of the river with natural meanders. Allow more natural fluvial geomorphological processes to occur and increase habitat. Improved flood alleviation to downstream areas. Integrate with school sports facilities and buildings to provide educational facility for school that could be shared with others. Provide riverside walk to link existing river restorations in Chinbrook Meadows and Sutcliffe Park. Potential for extending the current GREEN CHAIN WALK through Chinbrook Meadows northwards into Greenwich and award winning Sutcliffe Park, alongside a naturalised urban river. Provide natural amenity and green pedestrian walk within urban environment. The Quaggy at this point lies within a straight concrete channel, inside a 6 metre strip enclosed by high fences. The fenced off strip runs through school and private playing fields. As a result the river is extremely degraded with poor aesthetic appeal, is devoid of geomorphological features of interest and has low ecological value. From the upper (southern) end it is possible to walk through largely green space to Chinbrook Meadows and a section of the Green Chain walk where the river was restored in 2002. From the lower (northern) end it is a short distance to Sutcliffe Park where the river was recently restored as part of a flood alleviation scheme. Enhancement would connect these two restored sections for wildlife and people, as well as providing new habitat and a direct educational facility within adjacent school playing fields.<br>Landowner details:<br>1. South section: Greenwich council – meadow. Approached and receptive. (Councillor Brian Woodcraft. Ward: Middle Park and Sutcliffe.)<br>2. Middle section and Left bank: Colfes school – playing fields and fenced off rough ground adjacent to river. Approached in 2005 – not receptive at that time<br>3. Middle and north section and right bank: Old Brockleians rugby club – playing fields and rough ground adjacent to the river. Approached and receptive. (Ron Tennant, previous president)<br>4. North section left bank: Possibly or previously Civil Service. Playing fields.<br>Key themes (Other):<br>1.) BAP. It will contribute towards the ‘Creating a Better Place’ objective to make proportionate progress towards BAP targets for wetland-related species and habitats’<br>2.) The works would also fall within the Agency’s duties as set out in the Environment Act 1995 to promote the conservation and enhancement of the natural beauty and amenity of inland and coastal waters and of land associated with such waters.<br>3) Green Chain Walks – Would create the possibility of extending the green chain walks with a new riverside walk linking the boroughs of Bromley, Lewisham and Greenwich.<br>Requires the agreement and cooperation of four landowners, including Colfes school. Of these one, Colfes school, was not receptive three years ago when approached in 2005. Sensitivity regarding playing fields, although these do not go right to the edge of the current river course.
M
Breakout of concrete through park Uniform degraded channel. Building of new substation between Coppermill Close and Riverside Road by electricity alliance. +
B
Building and rebuilding of Bosgården hydroelectric plant during 1940-1960 decreased lake migrating brown trout populations, as 90 % of the spawning grounds were lost. In 1995 three pool-type fishways were constructed and minimum disharge was objected for natural riverbed which was often dry before. Still migrating fish population was suffered from the inconstant and low flows and complete dryness of riverbed for 100 metres at times.
the solution was to replace one pool-type fishway with a nature-like fish channel and tear down a weir in the main river near the outlet of the power plant. In addition, the minimum flow was increased from 300 to 600 L/s and an attraction flow was developed as the power plant shuts down in September and October annually for altogether 90 hours.Increasement of flow has returned spawning habitats to the river. +
H
Building with nature measures in streams
The Hooge Raam is a tributary of the Lage Raam stream. It is a fast-flowing stream in a mostly natural area. After deepening and weir construction, the waterway had become too wide and too deep for its discharge. Fifteen years ago, maintenance was suspended. A new bed was dug out, in which the stream was allowed to meander. In parts of the stream, dead branches and trunks were introduced. In other parts, trees were planted along the banks to provide shade. +
U
Burnleys industrial past left its rivers in a very poor state. The channels were lined with cobbles, fast flowing and uninhabitable for fish species. This project was commissioned to bring back some of the wildlife that had been lost and to install a higher regard for the environment within the community.
The URES projects two main objectives were to:
*Alter the straight, narrow channels into a more natural river with pool and riffle sequences, as well as enabling fish passage over a large weir.
*Engage the community to show them how valuable the river is to Burnley and to generate a higher regard for the environment.
The project did this by altering the channels cobbled bed to resemble a natural river with pools and riffles. As well as this, a passage was created to allow fish to move up and down the stretch. They hoped that these measures would encourage wildlife back to the area. To engage the community a range of courses, talks, events and shows were organised to get them involved and passionate about their environment.
Community involvement - Community Events, River open days, River Walks; Bioblitz event; Education events; School Tours. +