Case study:Mulkear Life Project

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Location: 52° 42' 33.83" N, 8° 24' 29.00" W

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Project overview

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Status	In progress
Project web site	http://www.mulkearlife.com
Themes	Fisheries, Habitat and biodiversity, Land use management - agriculture, Social benefits
Country	Ireland
Main contact forename	Nick
Main contact surname	Elbourne
Main contact user ID	User:NickRRC
Contact organisation	Inland Fisheries Ireland
Contact organisation web site
Partner organisations	Office of Public Works (Ireland), Limerick County Council
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

Catchment map for the Mulkear River and tributaries. Courtesy of the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board.

Project summary

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The Mulkear River and its tributaries (principally Newport, Bilboa and Dead rivers) form part of the Shannon Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and are particularly important for sea lamprey, Atlantic salmon, European otter, river lamprey and brook lamprey. The first three of these are the main ecological focus for this project.

The rivers have been extensively modified since the 1850s - straightening and meander removal, along with regular removal of LWD and other vegetation - which has reduced habitat diversity and thus biological diversity - ie. LWD removal reduces pool formation - an important habitat for juvenile Atlantic salmon. In addition, a number of weirs have been installed, creating a barrier to free upstream migration of fish for spawning - particularly sea lamprey and Atlantic salmon.

The riparian zones along the Mulkear and its tributaries have been degrading for many years, contributed to by the spread of invasive species (eg. giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam). This may lead to loss of river bank stability, sedimentation of important spawning beds and in the long term, the health of the riverine ecosystem as a whole.

A number of aims have been set out to improve the in-stream and riparian habitats:

1. Restoration of degraded habitats to improve otter (Action for otters), sea lamprey and Atlantic salmon populations, using best-practice for habitat rehabilitation.

2. Removal/modification of weirs to facilitate upstream fish migration for spawning.

3. Prevention and reversal of damage caused by invasive/introduced species - removal of problem vegetation from riparian zone and replacement of conifers with deciduous trees.

4. Work with local farmers to produce alternative solutions for cattle watering, with less impact on water quality.

5. Extensive advocacy/advisory work to create strong community links, along with improved education and awareness of river-related issues.

Monitoring surveys and results

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Lessons learnt

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Catchment and subcatchment

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Catchment

River basin district	Shannon
River basin	Shannon

Subcatchment

River name	Mulkear
Area category	100 - 1000 km²
Area (km2)	650650 km² <br />65,000 ha <br />
Maximum altitude category	200 - 500 m
Maximum altitude (m)
Dominant geology	Siliceous
Ecoregion	Ireland and Northern Ireland
Dominant land cover
Waterbody ID

Site

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Name	Mulkear Catchment
WFD water body codes
WFD (national) typology
WFD water body name	Mulkear WMU
Pre-project morphology	Straightened channel with meanders removed - uniform planform with high embankments. Weirs installed, acting as barrier to fish migration.
Reference morphology
Desired post project morphology
Heavily modified water body	No
National/international site designation
Local/regional site designations	Special Area of Conservation
Protected species present	Yes
Invasive species present	Yes
Species of interest	Lamprey, Atlantic salmon and European otter
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

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Reach length directly affected (m)
Project started	2009/01/01
Works started
Works completed
Project completed	2014/01/01
Total cost category	more than 10000 k€
Total cost (k€)	17408181,740,818 k€ <br />1,740,818,000 € <br />
Benefit to cost ratio
Funding sources	EU Life Programme (50%), Inland Fisheries Ireland, Office of Public Works, Limerick County Council, NPWS, North & South Tipperary Councils

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
Hydromorphology	Channel pattern/planform
Biology	Instream habitat rehabilitation, weir removal for upstream fish migration, invasive species removal.
Physico-chemical	Specific non-synthetic pollutants (agricultural effluent)
Other reasons for the project

Measures

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Structural measures
Bank/bed modifications	Weir removal/modification for easement of fish passage.
Floodplain / River corridor	Protect/restore riparian zone - removal of exotic, invasive plant species; replacement of conifers with deciduous woodland. Alternative cattle watering solutions - improve water quality; reduce riparian damage.
Planform / Channel pattern
Other	Best practice for river habitat restoration.
Non-structural measures
Management interventions
Social measures (incl. engagement)	Develop strong community links and education for river-related issues.
Other

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
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Physico-chemical quality elements

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quality elements

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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

Monitoring documents

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Image gallery

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Additional links and references

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Link	Description

Supplementary Information

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