Property:Lessons learnt
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P
River management must be sensitive to the needs of the river and the wider environment.
The project had to be undertaken in bite sized bits and work involved, and was supported by, members of the local fisheries association. Working parties encouraged attendance by family members of all ages and were also a key mechanism for engagement as well as labour. Members worked as inclusive teams and their success and achievements were fed back to them to demonstrate their involvement in completing the scheme.
The work also dovetailed with and contributed to the efforts of the 'slowing the flows' project that is designed to generate floodwater storage upstream of a bridge bottleneck notorious for flooding Pickering town centre. Inventive use of heavy-horses to undertake coniferous forestry management also solved difficulties with vehicular access.
The Pickering Fisheries Association (PFA) are planning a similar project to manage and protect another wild trout fishery. +
B
SCRT created a Local Community Engagement Plan with local representatives which explained how, what and when we would communicate with local stakeholders and the public. This was extremely effective in setting out our engagement responsibilities and ensured a standardised approached to our communications. +
R
See individual project entries. +
See references +
K
Services on the site are the primary constraints. These consist of a gas main and foul sewer with manhole which are restricting the alignment and depth of the new channel. In addition the catchment itself is a constraint. London Clay underlies the site and downstream sections. However as the catchment rises a transition occurs to more permeable Chalk. This combination of a permeable upper catchment and urban build up may have contributed to the flashy nature of the Pyl Brook. Therefore the scheme has to cope with low base flows and peaky responses during storm events. +
G
Short time-scales of the project resulted in time pressures in surveying the catchment, prioritising key restoration works, and implementing these plans to ensure works were delivered on the ground within the year. We also had difficulty in securing local contractors to deliver works with the short notice, but we did secure contractors who did a great job. The Partnership has now built up a very useful local contractors list for future river restoration projects.
Uncontrollable factors such as the very wet weather experienced through autumn, winter 2015 and most of spring 2016 were out of our control, but by agreeing with our project funders we were able to extend the project by two months to complete all works.
As the Glaisdale Beck Restoration Project focused on a small area of the Esk and Coastal Streams Catchment it has enabled us to build very good relations with the local land managers/owners. There are still further works to be done to continue to improve the Glaisdale Beck waterbody and riparian habitat, but this project has opened doors for us to deliver further works in the future. +
I
Improving the Conservation Status of Freshwater Pearl Mussel Targeting the Clun SAC and Upstream Waters +
Significant lineage of riprian buffers established and multiple resourse protection measures implemented. As of February 2014, the project has established/protected approximately 25,000m of riparian buffer. Surveys and scoping studies undertaken. This is ongoing work in collaboration with EA, NE and CSFI and complements HLS and CSFI capital works in the Clun Catchment. +
L
So far so good some modifications were made to the design of the sand martin nesting tubes once the first was installed. Further reed baskets are being installed as only 5 were purchased originally, another 15 will be on site soon. +
H
So far the mesh is working well, and unlikely to fail for a long time. It will be interested to revisit in 10 or 20 years to see what happens to the new gravel bed. Invertebrates colonised the new habitat quickly and it is hoped that trout will spawn there one day.
Cattle drinks were created with a gravel bed and fencing - in hindsight more gravel in each would have been better. +
C
Some of the issues faced as part of project was to show it was feasible to construct a new wetland within an Agency flood basin without undermining it’s integrity and primary function, and ensuring the wetland had sufficient water to support the varied priority wetland habitats sought. This was achieved by undertaking groundwater monitoring and ground investigations, with results fed back into design.
Another essential element of the wetland design was to ensure that it would be relatively simple to manage, i.e., by ensuring good vehicular access, and ensuring new wetland habitats were easily maintainable by local conservation groups and council, and reduced risk of competition between wetland habitat types.
The urban wetland is located in the lower Irwell; a catchment that has significant infestations of invasive non-native species. Therefore an invasive control programme was essential, and integrated as part of construction works. Also a long term monitoring and control programme will be adopted as part of overall capital scheme maintenance. +
R
Some of this work was carried out as part of a River Improvement Week in which Environment Agency staff used environmental leave days to work with colleagues from other teams as well as with volunteers from the Dedham Vale AONB. Feedback about this approach was extremely positive. +
H
Spring 2013:<br>A number of large log deflectors that were placed there to attempt to improve flow and scour are currently ineffective due to the over wide channel. The Hogsmill STW phase 2 project will build on this previous work undertaken by Thames Water.<br><br>Good population of large fish, probably chub (approx 40-60cm)<br>Parts of the Hogsmill River support extensive aquatic vegetation and some London rarities such as small pondweed Potamogeton berchtoldii.The upper reaches have a diverse invertebrate community including some species characteristic of chalk streams. Caddisflies and mayflies have been found, as well as the more pollution tolerant beetles, freshwater shrimps and freshwater limpets. +
A
Stakeholder consultation and partnership critical for project success.
Resourcing the project with the most experienced staff ensured success.
Sequencing of work critical.
Specialist concrete saw facilitated retaining a significant section of the existing weir.
This retained good reference and control points for accurate setting out.Future maintenance issues should be given due consideration in the design process.
Detailed pre-works survey and design drawings critical to efficient planning and project delivery.
Local recording of water levels allowed efficient project planning in the advent of high river flows (waterlevel.ie). +
G
Start a monitoring plan with help from River Restoration Centre early on in project planning. Set aside sufficient funds to carry on monitoring such as invertebrate sampling and flora surveys for several years.
Agree with Council several months before scheduled works if path closure is necessary as this can be very costly.
Forming partnerships with Council and EA greatly assists in smooth running of project and maximises gains.
Completing excavation works in early spring (February/March) allows for quick regeneration of vegetation after disturbance and an ideal time to plant any plug plants/trees or sow seed mixture. +
R
Starting this project late in the year meant we had had to pull out when the weather turned. The welfare unit left on site was repeatedly flooded costing the project up to £40,000. Lesson learnt, try and secure funding as early as possible so you can programme the works to co-incide with the nice weather. +
W
Success +
E
Support through the partnership has resulted in an HLS agreement, which includes water related options e.g. buffer strips. £10.5K match ‘in-kind’ contribution from the farmers. Developed good working relationships with NFU, Natural England and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and has led to development of further projects.
This project has been a really positive example of partners working together to deliver common objectives.
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is continuing to deliver biodiversity and water related benefits through their ongoing project supported by SITA funding. The existing partners will continue to develop a similar approach in the Amber catchment. +
M
Surprisingly large support for the project
Find innovative ways to involve the community
Slowly slowly catchee monkey +
L
TRT felt that although the project was primarily to deliver NFM and evaluate its performance that we would be able to deliver multiply benefits to the waterbody. We have been successful in these aims and have taken a lot of lessons from the project.
* Do not under estimate the amount of time needed to engage with farmers, landowners and parish councils.
* Not everyone believes that NFM will work and some landowners will refuse to allow you to undertake the work on their land.
* TRT delivered over 50 interventions, which proved successful but the number was largely determined by opportunities that arose. For NFM to be really successful it needs to be upscale and delivered on a far broader scale.
* It is relatively easy to deliver leaky barriers, but more difficult to deliver river restoration, storage and wetland areas. +
R
Thanks to the local volunteers the restorations have been very succesfull and now the salmonid fish and many other fish species have better conditions to live and reproduce in the river. Still there are many barriers to the migratory fish and those issues need to be taking into consideratin in the future. +