Case study:River Skerne- Life project

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Location: 54° 32' 15.84" N, 1° 32' 0.35" W

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Project overview

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Status	Complete
Project web site
Themes	Economic aspects, Habitat and biodiversity, Social benefits, Water quality
Country	England
Main contact forename	RRC
Main contact surname	River Restoration Centre
Main contact user ID	User:NickRRC
Contact organisation	Life Project
Contact organisation web site	http://www.therrc.co.uk
Partner organisations	River Restoration Centre, Darlington Borough Council, Environment Agency, Natural England
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

Aerial view of the completed Skerne works

Project summary

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The Skerne demonstration site is located in the town of Darlington, County Durham and demonstrates what can be achieved in an urban environment. The Skerne has been straightened and enlarged to reduce flooding and to drain the surrounding urban area. Much of the floodplain has been raised by old industrial waste tipping, with gas and sewer pipes running alongside the river. As a result of these constraints, restoration opportunities were severely limited - typical of urban rivers elsewhere.

A 2km length of the river has been restored. Four new meanders have been formed in a remaining section of floodplain used as open parkland. The excess soil was used to landscape nearby steep slopes. Riverbanks have been strengthened with willow and reeds to prevent erosion. Thirteen ugly surface water outfalls have been replaced with underground inspection /collection chambers that firstly intercept pollution and then discharge the water into the river below water level.

Elsewhere, where the river could not be re-meandered, it has been enhanced by reshaping and narrowing the bed to vary the flow and to allow riverside plants to flourish. New footpaths and planting schemes complete the theme of "bringing the countryside into town", which locally has been greatly appreciated.

Monitoring surveys and results

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Lessons learnt

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Catchment and subcatchment

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Site

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Name	River Skerne at Haughton le Skerne
WFD water body codes	GB103025072593
WFD (national) typology
WFD water body name	Tees US Low Worsall
Pre-project morphology	Straight
Reference morphology	Sinuous
Desired post project morphology
Heavily modified water body	Yes
National/international site designation
Local/regional site designations
Protected species present	No
Invasive species present	No
Species of interest
Dominant hydrology	Quick run-off
Dominant substrate
River corridor land use	Urban
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

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Reach length directly affected (m)	2000 m2 km <br />200,000 cm <br />
Project started	1995/01/01
Works started
Works completed
Project completed	1997/01/01
Total cost category	5000 - 10000 k€
Total cost (k€)	27502,750 k€ <br />2,750,000 € <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
Stakeholder engagement and communication
Works and works supervision
Post-project management and maintenance
Monitoring

Reasons for river restoration

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Mitigation of a pressure	Riparian development
Hydromorphology	Quantity & dynamics of flow, Width & depth variation, Structure & condition of riparian zones
Biology	Fish: Species composition, Invertebrates, Macrophytes
Physico-chemical	Oxygen balance
Other reasons for the project	Bank erosion, Landscape enhancement, Recreation

Measures

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Structural measures
Bank/bed modifications	Re-grading and lowering, Deflector structures
Floodplain / River corridor	Lowering of floodplain, Revegetate riparian zone, Creation of small wetlands
Planform / Channel pattern	Introduction of sinuosity, Introduction of backwaters
Other
Non-structural measures
Management interventions
Social measures (incl. engagement)
Other	Participation in works, Information provision, Participation in design, Consultation

Monitoring

Hydromorphological quality elements

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quality elements

Element	When monitored		Type of monitoring		Control site used	Result
	Before measures	After measures	Qualitative	Quantitative

Biological quality elements

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quality elements

Element	When monitored		Type of monitoring		Control site used	Result
	Before measures	After measures	Qualitative	Quantitative
Fish: Species composition	Yes	Yes		Yes		Improvement
Invertebrates	Yes	Yes		Yes		Improvement
Macrophytes	Yes	Yes		Yes		Improvement

Physico-chemical quality elements

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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

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Element	When monitored		Type of monitoring		Control site used	Result
	Before measures	After measures	Qualitative	Quantitative
Public use of community park	Yes	Yes	Yes			Improvement

Monitoring documents

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Image gallery

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Skerne River - RRC

Additional documents and videos

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Additional links and references

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Link	Description
http://http://www.therrc.co.uk/projects/skerne brochure.pdf	RRC report
http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River Skerne	Wikipedia link

Supplementary Information

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