Case study:Letting the Dove Flow

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Location: 53° 5' 22.20" N, 1° 47' 35.69" W

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Project overview

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Status	In progress
Project web site	http://http://www.trentriverstrust.org/site/letting_the_dove_flow
Themes	Environmental flows and water resources, Fisheries, Habitat and biodiversity, Hydromorphology
Country	England
Main contact forename	Julie
Main contact surname	Wozniczka
Main contact user ID
Contact organisation	Trent Rivers Trust
Contact organisation web site	http://www.trentriverstrust.org/site/
Partner organisations	Natural England
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

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Project summary

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The project's aims were to form a partnership and use this to devise and implement a Restoration Plan for the River Dove in Dovedale and Wolfscote Dale, one of the most renowned stretches of river in Britain. In 2010 Natural England commissioned a fluvial audit of the Upper Dove catchment to study how the river is transporting sediment through erosion and deposition, how it has changed over time and how it is likely to change in future. Natural England then commissioned an Ecological Restoration Vision (Hyder, 2011).

The Restoration Plan is published by Natural England and you can view it via the following link: http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/6259971227385856 It identifies and prioritises physical restoration measures that will help to achieve SSSI favourable condition and Water Framework Directive objectives and was based on: previous studies and data; information provided by the Steering Group organisations; detailed and ongoing discussions with land owners and angling clubs; site visits to the whole length of the river that the report covers, usually with relevant land owners or angling clubs; meetings with archaeologists and the head of Derbyshire Museums.

It is a long term plan, whose approach is to work with landowners and other interested parties to deliver gradual improvements, gathering information and carefully evaluating the work we do together. All the potential actions require further detailed planning with relevant landowners and permission from landowners, Natural England and the lead flood authority (relevant County Councils) and Peak District National Park and/or Environment Agency.

In the short term work will be done with interested parties to implement agreed restoration and to gather evidence of the benefits. By demonstrating the benefits, hopefully it will be possible to work with all relevant landowners to implement restoration action in the longer term

Monitoring surveys and results

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We have conducted an audit of the weirs, recorded as an inventory with measurements, bed and bank materials and a suite of photographs for each weir. A PhD study modelling the effects of weir removal is being carried out at Loughborough University.

There is a long dataset of macro-invertebrate studies on this part of the Dove, conducted for Natural England, Aquascience Consultancy, Salmon and Trout Conservation UK and local fisheries interests.

Lessons learnt

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'Always remember, it's not our river!'. By building relationships based on listening and understanding people's concerns we are making steady progress.

We used old paintings to show that the river was different in the past, and a highly prized landscape before most of the weirs were built. This shows the idea that the river is changing and not a fixed entity. In the UK you can find old paintings, searchable by area, at http://artuk.org. From the old paintings we learnt that before the weirs the river was still impounded in places, probably by natural cascades. This informed the geomorphological view of the reference condition, which had been considered to be riffle - pool to one where step-pool and even cascades would be found as well. So when removing weirs, care will be taken to understand which parts would have been natural, as the early weir builders would have built them in places which were already naturally impounded.

The old paintings also enable a conversation, when we engage the public, that is not just 'We want to take away your weirs' but 'we want to find your cascades and to find a more diverse river.'

They have also led to some interesting and subtle conversations with angling clubs and farmers. These have focused on the question of 'what condition do we restore to?' which moves away from a polarised position.

Image gallery

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An example of weir breaching

impounded water upstream before removal

small weirs changing the flow of the river

Water flowing after removal

Gravels exposed

Catchment and subcatchment Select a catchment/subcatchment Site Edit site Name River Dove from source to Manifold WFD water body codes WFD (national) typology WFD water body name Pre-project morphology weirs Reference morphology Pool-riffle, Bedrock cascade Desired post project morphology Heavily modified water body No National/international site designation Local/regional site designations Protected species present No Invasive species present No 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 2014/08/01 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 WFD standards Hydromorphology Achieve SSSI standards Biology Physico-chemical Other reasons for the project Measures Edit Measures Structural measures Bank/bed modifications Allowing stone weirs and bank reinforcements to break down, removing or breaching weirs and reinforcements Floodplain / River corridor Planform / Channel pattern Other Installing large woody material Non-structural measures Management interventions Encouraging tree growth and natural supply of large woody material Social measures (incl. engagement) Engagement with a wide range of stakeholders - more planned. 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