Case study:Wensum River Restoration Strategy

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Location: 52° 46' 52.77" N, 0° 57' 38.38" E

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Project overview

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Status	In progress
Project web site	http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/wildlife/114676.aspx
Themes	Fisheries, Flood risk management, Habitat and biodiversity, Hydromorphology, Land use management - agriculture, Monitoring, Water quality
Country	England
Main contact forename	Adam
Main contact surname	Thurtle
Main contact user ID
Contact organisation	Environment Agency
Contact organisation web site	http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Partner organisations	Natural England, Water Management Alliance, Riparian Landowners, Atkins
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	Great Ryburgh End Restoration Scheme, Meander reinstatement on the River Wensum at the Ryburgh Loop, River Tat Restoration Scheme, River Wensum Rehabilitation Project - Bintree, River Wensum Restoration, Reach 10 Lenwade, River Wensum Restoration, Reach 3a Costessey, River rehabilitation on the River Wensum at Swanton Morley, Sculthorpe Moor Restoration Scheme, Upper Wensum Restoration Project

Wensum at Great Ryburgh, July 2011 (post-restoration)

Project summary

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The River Wensum Restoration Strategy is a long-term project with the vision to restore all 71km of the River Wensum SSSI/SAC. The project is lead by the Environment Agency, working in partnership with a range of organisations and individuals including Natural England, the Water Management Alliance, Atkins, riparian landowners and anglers. We intend to restore the river and floodplain to a more naturally functioning ecosystem so that it can support the wildlife and fisheries typical of a Norfolk chalk stream. We aim to ensure that the river is sustainably managed to meet the needs of all river users, providing ecosystem services to benefit wildlife, water quality, water resources, flood risk management, agriculture and leisure activities.

The Wensum is a chalk river of great importance for its wildlife, as well as being a notable landscape feature of rural Norfolk. Its conservation interest is recognised nationally and internationally through its notification as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC). However, the river is in unfavourable ecological condition and failing its Water Framework Directive targets due to past physical modifications for land drainage and milling. In essence parts of the river are too wide, too deep and too straightened, as well as being heavily impounded by mill structures and disconnected from its floodplain by spoil banks resulting from historical dredging.

For the first time we have looked at a whole river scale to see what action needs to be taken to restore each section of the river. The main recommendations of the strategy include narrowing the channel, restoring the gravel bed, reducing impoundment, reconnecting the floodplain, improving channel sinuosity and increasing the amount of large woody material in the channel.

Our over-arching philosophy is to implement integrated schemes that deliver multiple benefits, including river restoration, floodplain biodiversity enhancements, reduced flood risk to people and property, and improved angling and water quality. We work closely with a wide range of other projects and initiatives within the Wensum catchment to achieve these objectives.

As of March 2014 we had completed 6 major restoration schemes on the river. A total of 12.46km of river has been restored.

Monitoring surveys and results

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For each scheme we monitor the impacts of restoration on fish, invertebrates, aquatic macrophytes, and protected species (e.g. water vole). Fixed point photography is also undertaken.

Lessons learnt

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Image gallery

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WRS River Tat (Environment Agency)

Wensum Ryburgh Common meander loop (Environment Agency)

Wensum Swanton Morley floodplain re-connection (Environment Agency)

Catchment and subcatchment Select a catchment/subcatchment Edit the catchment and subcatchment details (affects all case studies in this subcatchment) Catchment River basin district Anglian River basin Broadland Rivers Subcatchment River name Wensum Area category 10 - 100 km² Area (km2) Maximum altitude category Less than 100 m Maximum altitude (m) 9898 m <br />0.098 km <br />9,800 cm <br /> Dominant geology Calcareous Ecoregion Great Britain Dominant land cover Arable and Horticulture Waterbody ID GB105034051110 Other case studies in this subcatchment: River Wensum Rehabilitation Project - Bintree Site Edit site Name Bintree WFD water body codes GB105034051100 WFD (national) typology R19 WFD water body name Wensum Pre-project morphology Single channel Reference morphology Single channel Desired post project morphology Heavily modified water body Yes National/international site designation EU - Special Area of Conservation Local/regional site designations Protected species present No Invasive species present No Species of interest Dominant hydrology Groundwater Dominant substrate Gravel River corridor land use Intensive agriculture Average bankfull channel width category 2 - 5 m Average bankfull channel width (m) Average bankfull channel depth category 0.5 - 2 m 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 2000/08/01 Works started Works completed 2000/10/01 Project completed Total cost category 50 - 100 k€ Total cost (k€) 73 k€73,000 € <br /> 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 Environment Agency Simon Johnson Stakeholder engagement and communication Works and works supervision Environment Agency Rob Dryden Post-project management and maintenance Monitoring Reasons for river restoration Edit reasons for restoration Mitigation of a pressure Agriculture, Land drainage Hydromorphology Channel pattern/planform, Quantity & dynamics of flow, Connection to groundwaters Biology Invertebrates: Taxonomic composition Physico-chemical Other reasons for the project Landscape enhancement, Flood risk management Measures Edit Measures Structural measures Bank/bed modifications Bed raising Floodplain / River corridor Planform / Channel pattern Channel narrowing Other Non-structural measures Management interventions Social measures (incl. engagement) Other Participation in maintenance 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 Invertebrates: Taxonomic composition Yes Yes 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 http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/view/ncc089250 RWRS fact sheet http://www.wensumalliance.org.uk/publications/Wensum restoration.pdf River Wensum restoration strategy 2009 Natural England http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oigsbVY22M Three minute video produced for the 2014 England River Prize Supplementary Information Edit Supplementary Information