River sediments and habitats and the impact of maintenance operations and capital works
This was the first stage of a research project designing field trials and demonstrations to understand how works affect habitats and the movement of sediments.
Documents
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Details
Objectives
This project aimed to understand more about how sediments and habitats are affected by works to build or maintain flood defences. It did this by updating existing methods in the River Habitat Survey with new field trials and demonstrations.
Approach
This first stage looked at what was needed to carry out field trials, including finding suitable locations. This determined what data would be needed and the ways of making sure that the right data was collected and stored properly. This was intended to be used to develop stage 2 of the project, where field trials and demonstrations could be carried out.
Outcome
The results were then intended to provide information on whether and how the movement of sediments self-regulates in response to engineering works. It could also help understand how to manage rivers effectively, and suggest new ways of designing and maintaining channels. This includes how to adapt flood defences to a changing environment.
This project started in 2003 and was completed in 2004 at a cost of £29,448.