Case study:River Frome Rehabilitation Plan

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Project overview

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Status	In progress
Project web site	http://www.gov.uk
Themes	Environmental flows and water resources, Fisheries, Flood risk management, Habitat and biodiversity, Hydromorphology, Water quality
Country	England
Main contact forename	Alastair
Main contact surname	Maxwell
Main contact user ID
Contact organisation	Environment Agency
Contact organisation web site	http://www.gov.uk
Partner organisations
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	2e Lower Woodsford River and Floodplain Enhancement, Bockhampton Enhancement, Hurst Bridge (downstream), Louds Mill (Downstream)m Enhancement, Lower Bockhampton, Lower Woodsford, Martins River Island, Moreton Channel Gravel Reprofiling, North Channel Upper Reach, Unit 1b - Long Bridge to Downstream of Louds Mill, Unit 3a – Hurst Bridge 2013, Unit 4 - North Channel Phase 1, Woodsford Channel

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Project summary

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The Environment Agency and Natural England are working together with their partners to restore the river towards a more favourable condition and achieve their vision for the River Frome SSSI.

Actions to restore the physical structure of the river to an improved condition for ecology have been set out in the River Frome Rehabilitation Plan. The plan aims to use the linkages between ecology and geomorphology identified in the accompanying Technical Report to identify opportunities and constraints for managing, conserving and enhancing the river and returning the SSSI to favourable or recovering condition. The plan suggests a range of catchment-scale and reach-based solutions that if implemented will help to restore the river to favourable condition. The plan then identifies the actions needed to deliver the solutions and prioritises which should be taken over the short, medium and long term. The ultimate goal is to move towards a more naturally functioning and un-constrained system that is able to adjust and respond to changes without constant management. However, it is recognised that the River Frome supports a wide range of other interests in addition to ecology (e.g. agriculture and fisheries) and that all of these need to be taken into account when planning actions.

PROJECT AIMS

Where possible the delivery of the River Rehabilitation will:

• minimise material brought to site

• to have zero waste taken to landfill

• use materials won from site i.e. wood, back fill and gravel

• to minimise use of imported gravel

• minimise cost of design by keeping ‘in-house’

• deliver individual projects through partnership (FPWDFA, Dorset Wildlife Trust)

• to support existing and future river rehabilitation initiatives

Monitoring surveys and results

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The River Frome from Dorchester to Wareham is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to the important chalk river and lowland, low gradient river habitats it supports. These habitats support a diverse range of aquatic plants, invertebrates, fish, birds and mammals. The condition of these habitats is assessed by Natural England against specific conservation objectives that have been formulated for the site. The most recent assessment, which was undertaken in 2009, shows that the SSSI does not meet the standards required in the conservation objectives, and is therefore in unfavourable condition.

The SSSI is in unfavourable condition for a number of reasons, including historical modifications to the physical structure of the river channel, its banks and riparian zone, and the way in which flow is divided between multiple channel sections. These have resulted in a straightened, over deepened channel that has very little geomorphological diversity, uniform flows, and enhanced siltation. Our vision is to improve the ecological health of the river by enhancing the characteristic habitats needed for the wildlife to recover and thrive which includes a diverse range of in-channel habitat features, clean gravels and mosaics of species rich riverside vegetation and wetlands connected to the river.

Lessons learnt

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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