CATCHMENT RESTORATION FUND: RIVER REA RESTORATION PROJECT

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1 CATCHMENT RESTORATION FUND: RIVER REA RESTORATION PROJECT Project Summary The River Rea Restoration Project was a partnership project to improve watercourses in the River Rea Catchment affected by sedimentation, diffuse pollution, degraded habitat and obstruction to fish passage. The project helped to remediate these issues by working with farmers and landowners to encourage the installation of cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives, such as coppicing, creation of buffer strips, fencing to improve riparian habitats and overcome barriers to fish migration. Background Many watercourses within the River Rea Catchment are failing to meet the required standards under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) due to failing fish numbers (data 2012). The River Rea has long been known as a catchment in serious decline as a result of sedimentation, poor agricultural practices and fish migration barriers. The Severn Rivers Trust walkover surveys and assessment of the River Rea (2012), confirmed that suspended sediment load, degraded habitats and fish migration barriers were seen to be impacting on the ecological health of the river and a major cause of fish failure. Impacts such as agricultural run-off from fields and bank erosion caused by farm animals are major contributors to an excessive quantity of sediment entering the river system. Also good riparian habitats are in decline due to over shading and over mature and diseased alders dying and falling into the river causing excessive blockages and bank erosion scars. People and organisations involved The Severn Rivers Trust worked in conjunction with local Environment Agency Officers and Departments, Forestry Commission, Natural England, Woodland Trust and Catchment Sensitive Farming throughout the lifetime of the project, with regular field officer meetings held to discuss progress, issues and problems within the catchment.

2 The CRF project was fully supported by the Caba Teme Catchment Partnership, consisting of over 20 members including representatives from the above aforementioned groups and County Councils, Shropshire and Malvern Hills AONB, Shropshire and Worcestershire Wildlife Trusts, Herefordshire Nature Trust, Severn Trent Water and local wildlife and community groups. Good working relations were built within the catchment with the large estates and owners and their many tenants. Over 90% of contractors used were locally resourced from within a proximity of 10 miles, promoting good local economic support. Project description and objectives SRT carried out walk over surveys of the whole catchment to attain a better understanding of the reasons or geographic locations of sources of sediment loading, bridging the data gaps responsible for waterbodies ecological status failings and to achieve an effective, targeted mitigation plan for improvement in WFD ambition. This enabled SRT to pinpoint the sources in relation to sediment loading, fish barriers and poor river habitats in order to devise an achievable mitigation project, rather than rely on broad landscape scale approaches. This targeted River Rea restoration plan identified geographically in the catchment, holdings contributing the greatest sources of sediment loading from poaching and bank erosion, where riparian habitat could be improved and the potential to overcome barriers to fish migration. Objectives for the River Rea Restoration Project To decrease siltation of gravels and reduce turbidity of waters, in turn increasing water quality and spawning potential specifically achieved through reduction of poaching by fencing (a main source of sedimentation levels in river) To increase levels and stability of riparian habitats by increasing buffering along river, diversifying levels of habitat on rivers edge and stabilise the spread of phytophora amongst the Alders, reducing bank side collapse (another main source of sediment) To increase fish passage by overcoming barriers and establish fish passes, where appropriate by natural revetment otherwise by hard engineering. To increase and improve community engagement and establish a sense of ownership and responsibility of their rivers through active groups for future improvements and monitoring. Additional benefits from the project included: Aiding the UK s Biodiversity Action Plan; Habitat improvement works will benefit salmon, otters, lamprey and white clawed crayfish species. Flood management increased buffering riparian habitats will decrease overland flow runoff. Increase access and recreational use for the public i.e. fishing access and entry into the Severn Rivers Trust fishing passport scheme which in turn will provide additional fish catch monitoring.

3 Community engagement Involving the local community and setting up groups for monitoring and education Brief outline of works and techniques used The River Rea Restoration project aimed to advise and assist farmers and land owners in applying the correct and relevant practices in river restoration and tackle the issues by delivering the following measures Fencing - where agricultural practices have been identified to be causing the watercourse to fail to meet WFD standards, riparian fencing and associated drinking points or alternative source of water will result in multiple benefits. The poaching of riverbanks by livestock will be reduced, as will the associated excess sediment inputs. Vegetation will become reestablished along the riverbanks, therefore increasing riparian habitat and biodiversity. This will result in the establishment of a buffer zone that will reduce the amount of nutrient runoff that enters the watercourse from farmland and roads. Reconnecting habitat - where an obstruction to fish passage exists within the river channel, the project will look to remove it, or at the very least, make it passable. This will not only open up more habitat to migratory fish, but where removal occurs it will also return the sediment movement to a more natural regime. Riparian Management Bankside trees that have not been cut or coppiced for several years and have been allowed to grow up can shade riverbanks, restricting sunlight to under-storey vegetation and result in bare ground under the trees which is then susceptible to erosion. The aim is to increase the amount of light getting through the canopy, promote natural regrowth of bankside plants and increase levels of bank stability and stabilise the spread of phytophora amongst the Alders, reducing bank side collapse (another main source of sediment). Community engagement - this is essential to the long term success of the project as it encourages local ownership and support. It is seen as an integral part of an integrated catchment management approach. We will increase and improve community engagement and establish a sense of ownership and responsibility of their rivers through active groups for future improvements and monitoring. Monitoring results and assessment Fixed point photography was completed on each holding. As there was over 30 farms, only a selection have been shown here. Each showed improvements to riparian habitats and increased the buffer strip along the river. Livestock access was restricted and either controlled access in the form of livestock

4 drinking bays or solar power pumps were used as water provision. Soil erosion has decreased as vegetation has developed over the programs length and coppiced alders have been seen to be rejuvenating healthy. Those works completed in the last year will be revisited next year to assess the improvements. Riverfly monitoring has been used at fixed locations in the catchment, the data collected by landowners that attended the course. Figures are still building on a monthly basis to build a baseline for comparison. EA data and WB classification has shown improvements in the Rea Catchment. Due to changes in waterbodies and monitoring collections, it has been difficult to accurately assess improvements at this time. Difficulty in accessing these data sets of monitoring and changes in the collection have proved detrimental in assessing the projects overall improvements. As detailed below in lessons learnt, sonde data has proved our most unsuccessful form of monitoring for the project. Due to the number of farms to be tackled through the lifetime of the project, it was discussed with RRC the plan to avoid individual farm monitoring and devise a plan of overall catchment scale monitoring. Due to lack of support data, such as flow, late acquirement and faulty equipment, collection of data has not been an overall success and unable to give immediate results. The future plan is to assign a student placement at Worcester University to examine and report on the data as a graduate thesis. It is very difficult to find quick monitoring solutions for long term improvements, but looking at the positive, we can successfully be assured the works we have completed within the CRF project have been hugely successful in benefiting the catchment and in achieving WFD good status. Local knowledge and feedback from the community have commented: The removal of the weir has improved the river hugely and looks great. I have even seen families taking an interest in what is in the river Over the last year we have seen far less blockages in the river than we would have expected, which would usually cause huge problems of flooding It seems like the river is far less brown after an intense rainfall than it used to be I am really pleased with the results on the farm and it is has really benefitted the livestock and made me think about the farm and river.

5 Overall achievements and impact The River Rea Catchment has significantly been improved by the project over the 3 years. A project of such length enables relations to be built and progress to be continually achieved. Our key achievements from the project include; Over 32km of fencing, coppicing and riparian habitat restoration has been successfully completed. In excess of 50 farms were engaged, given guidance, advice and attitudes changed in terms of river restoration, diffuse water pollution and improving riparian habitats throughout the life span of the project 6 fish barriers have been removed or fish passage installed on weirs within the catchment, including the largest barrier within the catchment opening up good spawning and river habitats for salmonids. 15 new volunteers were recruited, trained and regularly monitor riverfly life in the catchment 1 community group has actively engaged in the project and with river restoration. 6 new solar power systems are in place, designed by a local contractor within the catchment. Additonally, the Sita fund was awarded as a result of the CRF project. The above achievements have been vital in improving the condition of river, its water quality, protection of species and the improvement in status of WFD under 2015 data. In terms of landscape scale, engagement has been critical in improving best farming practices, highlighting the importance of land and river management for future years of improvement. Monitoring and engagement will continue in the catchment due to the success of match funding secured through Sita in conjunction with CRF and the start of a 6 year project, Springs of Rivers funded by HLF. Plans to maintain the benefits delivered by the project after catchment restoration funding ceases include: Establishing a local community led groups to continue work and monitoring of the river. SRT will continue to support and offer guidance to the group, who will be fully trained by the end of this project.

6 Work on opening up barriers will create sustainability for fish and eel movement. Landowners who have fencing and riparian areas on holdings will sign SRT s standard policy of maintaining and overseeing the upkeep for 5 years. Where possible farmers and landowners will be encouraged to participate and join SRT s fishing passport scheme on the River Rea. This will provide socio-economic benefits and ensure the continued support of this project by contributing to improved habitats and providing funding for further works. Education throughout the catchment and the ability to demonstrate look what my neighbour did to local farmers and landowners and exemplifier demo sites will all encourage greater participation in the future. We will look to rolling this out to the younger generations through education visits. The Severn Rivers Trust have been successful in securing funding for a 5 year Springs of Rivers project for the Teme Catchment, extension of CRF works will continue as part of this project.

7 1. River Rea Weir Removal: PRESS RELEASE The Rea River Restoration project has successfully completed its most recent work to remove blockages to fish passage on the River Rea. This scheme has restored habitat connectivity in the lower River Rea catchment, after fragmentation that has lasted for centuries and will allow passage of brown trout, salmon and other species of fish to excellent habitats. Working alongside the Environment Agency under the Catchment Restoration Fund, the project aimed to dismantle the weir and provide in-channel morphological diversity by creating a riffle structure. The completion of this project has not only removed a significant barrier to multi-species fish passage, but it has also helped to restore natural river processes which will benefit overall biodiversity within the area. Emma Buckingham, Catchment Officer for the Severn Rivers trust said, There is excellent river habitat in the upper reaches of the Rea, but the full potential of this habitat was not being realised, as it was effectively blocked by the weir. The removal of the weir was preferable to creating a fish pass at the site as at a closer inspection the weir was in a poor state and removing the barrier would completely reinstate full habitat connectivity and therefore generate major biodiversity improvement. As well as allowing free fish passage, the removal of the weir has also resulted in a return to a natural substrate movement and reduced the risk of flooding. This work complements habitat restoration that has already been carried out by the Severn Rivers Trust upstream and in the future should see it becoming an excellent nursery stream for fish. Our next steps are to monitor any effects of the weir removal and to improve the river banks by installing fencing to keep out livestock and let the banks naturally rejuvenate. During the

8 decommissioning of the weir, we commissioned Paul Glendell to undertake a time-lapse photography film of the construction. Paul worked alongside Castleford Engineering during the works and produced a film that we hope to show you soon on our website. rivers+trust+you+tube

9 2. Example Project before/after photos 1. Dairy Farm. Before photos: Extensive poaching of banksides and bankside erosion. Over grown tree shading

10 After: Over 5km of works completed, including coppicing, fencing and providing livestock drinking bays

11 2. Dairy farm. Before photos. Extensive bankside erosion d/t diseased Alders causing blockages and erosional scars. Overgrazing of banksides causing damage, poaching and bankslips.

12 After works

13 3. Dairy farm Before photos. Extensive bankside slip caused by overgrazing and poaching.

14 After works