Completion of river restoration schemes on River Camel in Cornwall
Two exciting river restoration schemes on the River Camel in Cornwall and its tributary the De Lank River were completed in early 2021.
The River Camel Restoration Strategy was launched by the Environment Agency and Natural England after the Camel Valley, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), was found to be in ecological decline. The River Camel Restoration Strategy involved the Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT) working in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency.
The River Camel is an internationally important river for the Atlantic salmon, and is a significant for its populations of sea trout, sea lamprey and otters. Obsolete structures like disused weirs acted as barriers to migratory fish and affected natural river habitats. Work in the last two years focussed on Grogley Weir on the Camel and Keybridge Weir on the De Lank where heavy machinery has been used to remove structures including an old gauging station which prevented natural river process, restricting the movement of sediment and the formation of gravel deposits which create habitats. The removal of Keybridge Weir will enable migratory salmon and sea trout to reach their spawning grounds on Bodmin Moor.
The work at Grogley involved the removal of a concrete weir, sheet piling and gabion baskets and approximately 60-65 metres of block stone on both banks. Other related work has included the removal of phosphate at sewage treatment works, a Catchment Sensitive Farming project to reduce diffuse agricultural inputs, habitat restoration including tree planting, and control of the invasive species Himalayan Balsam
Both river projects are part of the EU-funded Water for Growth programme. and were led by Westcountry Rivers Trust (WRT) working in partnership with Natural England and the Environment Agency. South West Water helped co-finance the scheme.
Further information:
Successful restoration of Cornwall’s River Camel - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
https://wrt.org.uk/restoration-river-camel/
Photo credit: River Camel Keybridge-Weir Gov.uk