River Restoration

A healthy thriving river can support a wide diversity of wildlife and provide communities with spaces to connect with nature and enjoy activities that boost both mental and physical health.  Rivers across the UK are greatly in need of protection and restoration.

The River Waveney Trust carries out work to restore and revive freshwater habitats in the Waveney Valley that have been impacted by industrialisation, urbanisation and agricultural intensification.  Over centuries the River Waveney and its tributaries have been straightened, dammed, deepened, reinforced, diverted, embanked, culverted and disconnected from their floodplains.

These changes have significantly altered the fundamental way in which the Waveney and its tributaries functions, so that they are no longer resilient and able to cope with additional pressures from water pollution and abstraction, they are less resilient to climate change and less able to support wildlife.

Returning our rivers to a totally natural state isn’t possible everywhere, but there’s lots that can be done to help them thrive again. Working alongside other local Rivers Trusts and conservation organisations we are fighting for wild, healthy, natural rivers.

Projects:

Whilst each restoration project is unique and addresses a range of different issues, our broad aim remains the same: to protect and restore the river Waveney, its tributaries and the wider catchment.

Tin River - Bungay - Tributary to River Waveney

We are exploring a range of measures to hold water on floodplains higher in Tin River's catchment and to reduce the speed at which water is conveyed through the channel to reduce the flood risk in the lower reaches. We are looking to create more diverse habitat for wildlife along the banks of the Tin River.

Broome Beck - Bedingham and Woodton - Tributary to River Waveney

We have plans to re meander a section of this overly straight and deep channel and to create a more diverse patchwork of wildlife habitats.

Birdwalk Plantation - Eye & Hoxne - River Dove and Tributary

We have plans to reconnect a small tributary to the River Dove to its floodplain, this will create an area of wet woodland.  We also plan to create scrapes in grassland on the banks of the Dove, these will be seasonally wet and will provided habitat for aquatic invertebrates and breeding waders.

Frenze Beck - Diss - Tributary to River Waveney

Frenze Beck Nature Reserve is a publicly accessible County Wildlife Site on the outskirts of Diss, managed by River Waveney Trust volunteers. Here we have lowered a section of riverbank and created scrapes to hold flood water.  We have installed several brash berms which provide habitat for aquatic invertebrates and fish and will create a diversity of flow where they narrow small sections of the channel.

Gissing

Following consultation with the local community of Gissing a project was developed to hold water in the landscape and reduce flood risk in the village. An old dry channel was reconnected to the existing watercourse and a new overflow channel and scrapes to hold flood water were dug. In addition to reducing flood risk the project has created seasonally wet grassland habitat which will increase local biodiversity.