Case study:Habitat enhancement of the River Waveney through Bressingham

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Location: 52° 22' 45.29" N, 1° 2' 17.05" E

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Project overview

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Status	Complete
Project web site
Themes	Fisheries, Habitat and biodiversity, Hydromorphology
Country	England
Main contact forename	Trevor
Main contact surname	Bond
Main contact user ID	User:Tbond
Contact organisation	Environment Agency
Contact organisation web site	http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency
Partner organisations	Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Meryvn Lambert Plant Hire
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

Alternating berms on the River Waveney at Bressingham

Project summary

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The River Waveney through Bressingham has historically been diverted into what is colloquially referred to as the "New Cut". This linear, steep-sided channel was in much need of enhancement and following conversations with various local landowners, a scheme was put together to improve the river's form and function.

The lack of gradient through the site limits the effectiveness of restoration techniques aimed at increasing flow velocity. This is exacerbated by long-term maintenance that has seen the river routinely de-silted to a substantial depth, exceeding 1.5m in some places. Consequently the work that was undertaken aimed to increase habitat availability and diversity. Specifically, more shelter was created for fish and small in-stream organisms by constructing brushwood mattresses. Shallow berms were installed to soften the edge between the aquatic and terrestrial environment, providing an area of transitional plants to establish. In some locations a two-stage channel was formed using old spoil embankments, maintaining conveyance but increasing flow velocity at low flows.

Over the course of two weeks in October 2014 and with a budget of under £15,000, approximately 1.5km of river channel was enhanced.

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Image gallery

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Looking downstream at a berm feature that was installed on the true left-hand bank of the River Waveney

High-powered drills were necessary for us to screw some of the wooden features in place

Timber screws were used to connect the woody-debris to the vertical stakes. The screws are discrete but ensure the structure is solid

Prior to works the river banks were checked for water vole burrows

A long-reach excavator was the perfect tool for the job of working around a fence line. The weight of the machine did cause some minor tracking issues but ensured the required stability when working so close to the river bank

Brushwood mattresses were built largely by hand and create and excellent refuge for various species, particularly small fish

Catchment and subcatchment Select a catchment/subcatchment Site Edit site Name WFD water body codes WFD (national) typology WFD water body name Pre-project morphology Reference morphology Desired post project morphology Heavily modified water body National/international site designation Local/regional site designations Protected species present Invasive species present Species of interest Dominant hydrology Dominant substrate River corridor land use Average bankfull channel width category Average bankfull channel width (m) Average bankfull channel depth category Average bankfull channel depth (m) Mean discharge category Mean annual discharge (m3/s) Average channel gradient category Average channel gradient Average unit stream power (W/m2) Project background Edit project background Reach length directly affected (m) Project started Works started Works completed Project completed Total cost category Total cost (k€) Benefit to cost ratio Funding sources Cost for project phases Phase cost category cost exact (k€) Lead organisation Contact forename Contact surname Investigation and design Stakeholder engagement and communication Works and works supervision Post-project management and maintenance Monitoring Reasons for river restoration Edit reasons for restoration Mitigation of a pressure Hydromorphology Biology Physico-chemical Other reasons for the project Measures Edit Measures Structural measures Bank/bed modifications Floodplain / River corridor Planform / Channel pattern Other Non-structural measures Management interventions Social measures (incl. engagement) Other Monitoring Hydromorphological quality elements Edit Hydromorphological quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Biological quality elements Edit biological quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Physico-chemical quality elements Edit Physico-chemical quality elements Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Any other monitoring, e.g. social, economic Edit Other responses Element When monitored Type of monitoring Control site used Result Before measures After measures Qualitative Quantitative Monitoring documents Upload monitoring documents Additional documents and videos Upload additional documents Additional links and references Edit links and references Link Description Supplementary Information Edit Supplementary Information