Case study:Wensum River Restoration Strategy

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Location: 52° 46' 52.77" N, 0° 57' 38.38" E

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Project overview

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Status	In progress
Project web site
Themes	Habitat and biodiversity, Monitoring, Water quality
Country	England
Main contact forename	Nick
Main contact surname	Elbourne
Main contact user ID	User:NickRRC
Contact organisation	River Restoration Centre
Contact organisation web site	http://www.therrc.co.uk
Partner organisations
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	Great Ryburgh End Restoration Scheme, Meander reinstatement on the River Wensum at the Ryburgh Loop, River Tat Restoration Scheme, River Wensum Rehabilitation Project - Bintree, River Wensum Restoration, Reach 10 Lenwade, River Wensum Restoration, Reach 3a Costessey, River rehabilitation on the River Wensum at Swanton Morley, Sculthorpe Moor Restoration Scheme, Upper Wensum Restoration Project

Wensum at Great Ryburgh, July 2011 (post-restoration)

Project summary

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The River Wensum Restoration Strategy has been developed by Natural England, in partnership with the Environment Agency and the Water Management Alliance, to facilitate restoring the physical functioning of the river in order that it can sustain the wildlife and fisheries characteristic of a Norfolk chalk river.

In essence parts of the river are too wide, too deep and too straightened, as well as being heavily impounded by mill structures. The Wensum is also disconnected from its floodplain by spoil banks resulting from historical dredging for land drainage and industrial (milling)activities. For the first time we have looked at a whole river scale to see what action needs to be taken to restore each section of the channel. The main recommendations of the strategy include narrowing the channel, restoring the gravel bed, reductions in impoundment, reconnecting the floodplain, improving channel sinuosity and increasing the amount of large woody material in the channel. There is no intention to return the river to some former “natural” condition that it might have had at a specified time in the past.

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Image gallery

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Catchment and subcatchment Select a catchment/subcatchment Edit the catchment and subcatchment details (affects all case studies in this subcatchment) Catchment River basin district Anglian River basin Broadland Rivers Subcatchment River name Wensum Area category 10 - 100 km² Area (km2) Maximum altitude category Less than 100 m Maximum altitude (m) 9898 m <br />0.098 km <br />9,800 cm <br /> Dominant geology Calcareous Ecoregion Great Britain Dominant land cover Arable and Horticulture Waterbody ID GB105034051110 Other case studies in this subcatchment: River Wensum Rehabilitation Project - Bintree Site Edit site Name Bintree WFD water body codes GB105034051100 WFD (national) typology R19 WFD water body name Pre-project morphology Single channel Reference morphology Single channel Desired post project morphology Heavily modified water body true National/international site designation EU - Special Area of Conservation Local/regional site designations Protected species present Invasive species present Species of interest Dominant hydrology Groundwater Dominant substrate Gravel River corridor land use Intensive 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 Average unit stream power (W/m2) Project background Edit project background Reach length directly affected (m) Project started 2000/08/01 Works started Works completed 2000/10/01 Project completed Total cost category 50 - 100 k€ Total cost (k€) 73 k€73,000 € <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 Environment Agency Simon Johnson Stakeholder engagement and communication Works and works supervision Environment Agency Rob Dryden Post-project management and maintenance Monitoring Reasons for river restoration Edit reasons for restoration Mitigation of a pressure Agriculture, Land drainage Hydromorphology Channel pattern/planform, Quantity & dynamics of flow, Connection to groundwaters Biology Invertebrates: Taxonomic composition Physico-chemical Other reasons for the project Landscape enhancement, Flood risk management Measures Edit Measures Structural measures Bank/bed modifications Bed raising Floodplain / River corridor Planform / Channel pattern Channel narrowing Other Non-structural measures Management interventions Social measures (incl. engagement) Other Participation in maintenance 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: Taxonomic composition 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 Monitoring documents Upload monitoring documents Additional documents and videos Upload additional documents Additional links and references Edit links and references Link Description http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/wildlife/114676.aspx link to newsletters and factsheets on the Environment Agency website Supplementary Information Edit Supplementary Information