Case study:River Avon Habitat Enhancement, Fifield

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Location: 51° 15' 7.51" N, 1° 47' 21.06" W

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Project overview

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Status	Complete
Project web site
Themes	Environmental flows and water resources, Fisheries, Habitat and biodiversity, Hydromorphology
Country	England
Main contact forename	Mike
Main contact surname	Blackmore
Main contact user ID
Contact organisation	Wild Trout Trust
Contact organisation web site	http://www.wildtrout.org/
Partner organisations	Wessex Chalkstreams Project, Environment Agency, local volunteers
Parent multi-site project
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects	No

Project picture

Project summary

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Background
As part of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's 'Wessex Chalkstream Project' which promotes understanding and conservation on the Hampshire Avon, the Wild Trout Trust led a week of habitat enhancement work on the River Avon at Fifield near Netheravon.

This section of the Avon was once managed by the famous river keeper and author Frank Sawyer. During his time as head keeper for the Services Dry Fly Fishing Association (SDFFA), Frank oversaw the restoration of the river from a polluted, over-silted one, no-longer capable of supporting trout, towards a productive flowing river with a clean gravel bed. Frank's 'Great Clean Up', although not a complete success, led the way for future generations to improve river habitat.

Restoration implemented
Volunteers with the support of the Wild Trout Trust, two Wessex Chalkstream Project officers and the local Environment Agency contact, helped to introduce an abundance of woody material into the river, kicking flow about to create a more pronounced thalweg and helping diversify the habitat. By the end of the week, 500 metres of river habitat had been enhanced for £1000 plus the cost of a few chestnut stakes (a bargain at 3 times the price!).

Monitoring surveys and results

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Wednesday 30 April 2014 (update)
Following winter flooding and sustained high water levels, the work has stood up really well to the demanding weather. Still, there was some repair work and tidying up to do at the Fifield site. Over the winter some trees had blown down and were blocking paths and posing a potential risk of flooding and damage to the restoration work. The main problem was a large tree branch which had fallen across a footbridge and the bottom end of the reach. After consulting with landowners, the fishing club that manages the site and the Environment Agency, it was decided that the wood should be used to create further habitat at the lower end of the site, and at the same time remove the risk.

Lessons learnt

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One volunteer was a young soldier getting back into physical work after a gruelling 3-year recovery from being seriously wounded in an explosion in Afghanistan. Despite being exhausted, he very much enjoyed the day highlighting the therapeutic value of hands-on conservation work.

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Undertaking in-channel works

Catchment and subcatchment Select a catchment/subcatchment Edit the catchment and subcatchment details (affects all case studies in this subcatchment) Catchment River basin district South West River basin Hampshire Avon Subcatchment River name Hampshire Avon (Upper) Area category 100 - 1000 km² Area (km2) Maximum altitude category 200 - 500 m Maximum altitude (m) 212212 m <br />0.212 km <br />21,200 cm <br /> Dominant geology Calcareous Ecoregion Great Britain Dominant land cover Arable and Horticulture Waterbody ID GB108043022350 Other case studies in this subcatchment: Gunville Phase I, Longstreet A 91a, River Avon at East Chisenbury, West Amesbury 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) 500500 m <br />0.5 km <br />50,000 cm <br /> Project started Works started Works completed Project completed Total cost category 1 - 10 k€ Total cost (k€) 11 k€ <br />1,000 € <br /> Benefit to cost ratio Funding sources Environment Agency 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 1 - 10 k€ 11 k€ <br />1,000 € <br /> Wild Trout Trust Mike Blackmore Post-project management and maintenance Monitoring Reasons for river restoration Edit reasons for restoration Mitigation of a pressure Land drainage Hydromorphology Width & depth variation, Quantity & dynamics of flow Biology Fish Physico-chemical Other reasons for the project Community project with local volunteer involvement Measures Edit Measures Structural measures Bank/bed modifications Introducing large woody debris Floodplain / River corridor Planform / Channel pattern Other Non-structural measures Management interventions Social measures (incl. engagement) Citizen participation in the restoration project 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