Case study:River Cole- Life Project

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Location: 51° 37' 53.16" N, 1° 39' 45.56" W

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Project overview

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Status	Complete
Project web site
Themes	Flood risk management, Habitat and biodiversity, Hydromorphology, Water quality
Country	England
Main contact forename	Martin
Main contact surname	Janes
Main contact user ID
Contact organisation	River Restoration Centre
Contact organisation web site	http://www.therrc.co.uk
Partner organisations	Environment Agency, National Trust, Countryside Commission, English Nature
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

The restored Cole river

Project summary

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The river Cole has been realigned, straightened, and enlarged for over 900 years. Originally straightened for milling, the downstream section has more recently been enlarged to safeguard agricultural production from flooding. Above the mill the channel was realigned 200 to 300 years ago to form the present mill leat. This type of historical management is typical of many other rural rivers in the United Kingdom.

Upstream of the mill the river was restored to its original course (retaining a small flow in the mill leat) to join the old surviving mill by-pass channel. This new smaller channel encourages beneficial flood storage on the fields and allows fish to pass the mill weir. Downstream the river was reduced in size and remeandered across the old course to a more natural profile, retaining existing mature riverside trees. The restoration of bed level, water level and flood regime was achieved by cutting the new meandering river at a much higher level, similar to that prior to the last major deepening scheme of the 1970s.

Monitoring surveys and results

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Lessons learnt

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Image gallery

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Construction of the meanders

Aerial photograph of the restored channel

Bifurcation structure upstream of the mill, March 2005

Cows using the livestock crossing

Crayfish found in the river post-restoration, March 2008

The river during flood conditions, March 2010

Catchment and subcatchment Select a catchment/subcatchment Edit the catchment and subcatchment details (affects all case studies in this subcatchment) Catchment River basin district Thames River basin Vale of White Horse Subcatchment River name Cole (Bower Bridge to Thames) including Coleshill Area category 100 - 1000 km² Area (km2) Maximum altitude category 100 - 200 m Maximum altitude (m) 148148 m <br />0.148 km <br />14,800 cm <br /> Dominant geology Calcareous Ecoregion Great Britain Dominant land cover Arable and Horticulture Waterbody ID GB106039023730 Site Edit site Name River Cole WFD water body codes GB106039023730 WFD (national) typology WFD water body name Cole (Bower Bridge to Thames) including Coleshill Pre-project morphology Straight, Single channel 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 Dominant substrate Bedrock, Boulders, Gravel River corridor land use Extensive agriculture Average bankfull channel width category 2 - 5 m Average bankfull channel width (m) Average bankfull channel depth category 0.5 - 2 m Average bankfull channel depth (m) Mean discharge category Mean annual discharge (m3/s) Average channel gradient category Average channel gradient 0.0008 Average unit stream power (W/m2) Project background Edit project background Reach length directly affected (m) 2000 m2 km <br />200,000 cm <br /> Project started 1996/08/01 Works started Works completed Project completed 1996/12/31 Total cost category 100 - 500 k€ Total cost (k€) 175 k€175,000 € <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 Edit reasons for restoration Mitigation of a pressure Flood defence Hydromorphology Quantity & dynamics of flow, Channel pattern/planform, Width & depth variation Biology Invertebrates: Abundance, Fish: Species composition Physico-chemical Other reasons for the project Landscape enhancement, Habitat diversity Measures Edit Measures Structural measures Bank/bed modifications Planting, Depth modification Floodplain / River corridor Floodplain spillways Planform / Channel pattern Introduction of sinuosity, Creation of secondary channel, Backwaters created Other Livestock access, New crossings 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 Invertebrates Yes Yes Yes Improvement Fish: Species composition Yes Yes Yes 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 Public perceptions No Yes Yes No No Improvement Monitoring documents Upload monitoring documents Additional documents and videos Upload additional documents Additional links and references Edit links and references Link Description http://www.therrc.co.uk/case studies/cole brochure.pdf River Restoration Centre Case Study Supplementary Information Edit Supplementary Information