Case study:Kirkstall Valley Weir Fish Passes Project

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Location: 53° 48' 44.13" N, 1° 36' 0.82" W

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Project overview

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Status	Complete
Project web site
Themes	Environmental flows and water resources, Fisheries, Habitat and biodiversity, Social benefits, Urban
Country	England
Main contact forename	Kevin
Main contact surname	Sunderland
Main contact user ID
Contact organisation	The Aire Rivers Trust
Contact organisation web site	http://www.aireriverstrust.org
Partner organisations	Environment Agency, Canoe England, Aire Action Leeds, Leeds City Council, the West Yorkshire CARP Group
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

River Aire - St Ann's Mill Weir c.The Aire Rivers Trust

Project summary

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The outcome of the project is the improvement for fish passage around Kirkstall Island on the River Aire in Leeds by provision of fish passes at St Ann's Mills weir and Burley Mills weir. The fish passes will also benefit the other species which already inhabit the river but are prevented from reaching optimal spawning and feeding grounds.

The weirs are both situated on the left side channel (looking downstream) of Kirkstall Island. There are two weirs on the right side channel but careful consideration has led to the belief that fish will use the left side where the heavier flow is located.

Works include: The construction of two fish passes.

Monitoring surveys and results

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Evidence suggests(although it cannot be categorically proved) that Salmon are getting past the Kirkstall weirs as a result of the project and other weir removals in the catchment.

Lessons learnt

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Image gallery

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Map of the area

River Aire - Burley Mills c.The Aire Rivers Trust

Fish pass site at Burley Mills Weir (before construction - July 2013) c.The Aire Rivers Trust

Burley Mills Weir (before construction - July 2013) c.The Aire Rivers Trust

Completed fish pass (June 2014) at St Ann's Mills, River Aire c.The Aire Rivers Trust

Completed Fish Pass (June 2014) at Burley Mills, River Aire c. The Aire Rivers Trust

River Aire - Burley Mills Fish Pass from far bank.

Catchment and subcatchment Select a catchment/subcatchment Edit the catchment and subcatchment details (affects all case studies in this subcatchment) Catchment River basin district Humber River basin Aire and Calder Subcatchment River name Aire from Esholt STW to River Calder Area category 100 - 1000 km² Area (km2) Maximum altitude category 200 - 500 m Maximum altitude (m) 233233 m <br />0.233 km <br />23,300 cm <br /> Dominant geology Calcareous Ecoregion Great Britain Dominant land cover Suburban Waterbody ID GB104027063032 Other case studies in this subcatchment: Rodley weir by pass channel Site Edit site Name WFD water body codes GB104027063032 WFD (national) typology WFD water body name Aire from Esholt STW to River Calder Pre-project morphology Reference morphology 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 2012/08/09 Works started 2014/03/25 Works completed 2014/06/25 Project completed 2014/06/25 Total cost category 500 - 1000 k€ Total cost (k€) 510510 k€ <br />510,000 € <br /> Benefit to cost ratio Funding sources Defra Catchment Restoration Fund Cost for project phases Phase cost category cost exact (k€) Lead organisation Contact forename Contact surname Investigation and design Fishtek Consulting Toby Coe Stakeholder engagement and communication Works and works supervision Bailey Construction (NW) Ltd John Bailey Post-project management and maintenance Leeds City Council Peter Davis Monitoring Reasons for river restoration Edit reasons for restoration Mitigation of a pressure Barriers to fish migration, Impoundments (not hydropower) Hydromorphology Biology Fish: Species composition Physico-chemical Other reasons for the project Measures Edit Measures Structural measures Bank/bed modifications Floodplain / River corridor Creation of fish passes Planform / Channel pattern Other Non-structural measures Management interventions Social measures (incl. engagement) Community involvement 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 RRC monitoring table - Kirkstall Additional documents and videos Upload additional documents CRF Project briefing note - Kirkstall Additional links and references Edit links and references Link Description Supplementary Information Edit Supplementary Information For over 100 years the River Aire, from the Bradford area down to the river's confluence with the Ouse at Airmyn, was almost totally devoid of fish due to gross pollution. Following the alleviation of the pollution in the late 20th century, there are now fish populations along the full length of the river from the source near Malham down to the Ouse. Even though gross pollution has been eliminated, the Aire still suffers from a legacy of industrial and navigational weirs which have prevented the return of migratory fish and harmed the prospects of non-migratory species. The navigational weirs are still in use, and other weirs have been retained for various leisure and conservation reasons. This has meant that fish passes have had to be constructed so that the weirs no longer pose a complete barrier to fish movement. Over the last few years fish passes have been constructed at Castleford, Lemonroyd, Fleet, Rothwell Country Park, Thwaite Mills and Rodley. The fish passes at Burley Mills and St Ann's Mill in Kirkstall are the latest additions to this list. As part of the Leeds Flood Alleviation Scheme, a further two fish passes are planned to be built by 2016 at Knostrop and Crown Point in Leeds. There are strong possibilities for fish passes at a further four sites in the relatively near future. The various Yorkshire Rivers Trusts and the Environment Agency continue to look for further opportunities to add fish passes to Weirs on the Aire and other Yorkshire rivers in order to return the rivers to their full potential for fish and other wildlife.