Case study:Wensum River Restoration Strategy
Project overview
Status | In progress |
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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 |
Project summary
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.
Monitoring surveys and results
Lessons learnt
Catchment and subcatchment
Edit the catchment and subcatchment details
(affects all case studies in this subcatchment)
Site
Name | Bintree |
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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
Reach length directly affected (m) | |
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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 |
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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
Measures
Structural measures
| |
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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
Element | When monitored | Type of monitoring | Control site used | Result | ||
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Before measures | After measures | Qualitative | Quantitative | |||
[[]] |
Biological quality elements
Element | When monitored | Type of monitoring | Control site used | Result | ||
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Before measures | After measures | Qualitative | Quantitative | |||
Invertebrates: Taxonomic composition | Yes | Yes |
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
Element | When monitored | Type of monitoring | Control site used | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Before measures | After measures | Qualitative | Quantitative | |||
Monitoring documents
Image gallery
Additional documents and videos
Additional links and references
Link | Description |
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