July 2023
Catchment Partnership Fund-Funded Projects May 2023
This year, we will be funding five projects through the Catchment Partnership Fund (CPF) – two community projects, and three partnership projects. Further details about the funded projects is below. We anticipate we will open a second round of the fund in the Autumn. If you have a project idea in mind, or any questions about the CPF, please contact info@bristolavoncatchment.co.uk.
We would like to thank Bath and North East Somerset Council, Bristol City Council, Bristol Water, North Somerset Council, South Gloucestershire Council, and Wiltshire Council for contributing to the Catchment Partnership Fund.
Community grants
Led by the Trout in the Trym group, this project will carry out a fish barrier and obstruction assessment on the Trym and Hazel Brook in Northwest Bristol to prioritise which barriers should be removed. The Trym is a heavily modified river with numerous weirs and other obstructions throughout. The group will arrange a professional walkover survey, to allow the barriers to be ranked, which will help prioritise which should be removed in future. The river has been noted to host freshwater eels, brown trout, otters, and other freshwater creatures, whose populations could be increased with better water quality.
One of the Obstructions on the Trym and Hazel Brook seen in a recent BACP site visit.
Pickedmoor Lane Stream Restoration
Funded through the CPF last year, Thornbury Orchard Group has built on their litter picking along the river corridor and strengthened ties with BACP Partners. On the back of last year’s work, Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) visited the group and produced an opportunity report for Pickedmoor Lane Stream detailing work the group could deliver. This has formed the basis for this project. The project will consist of varied restoration work on the stream, including berm installation and planting the river corridor with shrubs.
Main grants
Gauze Brook Restoration Project
Working with the Hullavington Environmental Group, BART is coordinating this project to restore and enhance 0.5km of the Gauze Brook. Work will include the installation of berms to vary river flow, as well as tree cover removal to achieve the 60:40 shade-to-light ratio, the perfect balance for rivers to thrive. The community will be heavily involved in the project, assisting BART to deliver restoration on three practical volunteering days where volunteers will be trained on river restoration and upskilled. Riverfly monitoring will also be included in the project through the training of new volunteers.
South Bristol Communities Reconnected
With an approximate population of 83,100, the Malago, Pigeonhouse, and Colliters Brook catchments are highly industrialised, but make up the largest areas of blue/green space in south Bristol. Led by the Bristol Avon Rivers Trust, this project aims to help people connect to their local blue spaces to enhance their physical and mental well-being. There will be outreach sessions in schools to educate children on the importance of rivers, alongside community days that will include walks and picnics. The project will also include river restoration based on an opportunity report produced last year through a CPF Project.
Cleaning the Brook
A project led by South Gloucestershire Council, Cleaning the Brook focuses on identifying opportunities to improve the health of the Siston Brook, Bristol. A report will be produced drawing on a walkover survey carried out by specialised staff as part of the project, as well as using existing catchment data. The report will summarise catchment issues and detail potential opportunities on how these could be fixed, alongside recommended next steps as to how the project can progress beyond the survey stage.
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News from around the catchment
Are you a community group in the Bristol Avon catchment?
The BACP website is currently in the process of being updated. Part of the update is a new interactive map covering river-focused community groups across the catchment. We’d love as many groups to be involved as possible. If you would like to be featured on the map, then please contact us at info@bristolavoncatchment.co.uk and provide information on the name of your community group, an overview of your work, and the precise location of where you are based. Likewise, if you know of any groups in your area, then please pass this information on.
Save Water to Save the Trym
Save Water to Save the Trym is a project seeking to install water-butts in people’s homes to help lower the risk of discharges from storm overflows entering the River Trym. Run-off from roofs during rain storms often flows into a combined foul and surface water sewer, significantly increasing the volume of now diluted sewage flowing to the sewage works. If the volume increases by more than the sewage works can cope with, overflows can occur. There are 12 storm overflows along the Trym. The project is currently raising money to help install the water-butts. Water-butts have been proven to help reduce discharges from storm overflows by up to 70% by slowly releasing water into the system over a prolonged period. Water-butts also have the added bonus of storing clean water for garden use, reducing water bills. Read more about the project here and how you can support. To find out more about storm overflows read Wessex Water’s webpage.
River Marden restoration work
Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) have been delivering restoration work on the River Marden, near Calne. The work consisted of the installation of woody berms to help diversify water flow and habitat conditions. Read more about the work here.
Photo Credit: Bristol Avon Rivers Trust
How Wessex Water are tackling storm overflows
Wessex Water are working towards improving two sewer systems in the Bristol Avon catchment to reduce the impacts of storm overflows.
A £1.3 million scheme in Bath will help protect the River Avon through a five-month project, looking to ease pressure on the sewer system and build a new storage tank below ground in the car park of Bath RFC’s Lambridge rugby ground. Read the press release here.
A stretch of river through Bradford on Avon will also be worked on, with nearly £2 million helping to add more than 160,000 litres of additional storage to prevent the combined sewer from overflowing. Read the press release here.
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Wider news
A summary of England’s draft regional and water resources management plans
The Environment Agency has published this article focussed their assessment of the draft Water Resource Management Plans and Draft Reginal Plans. Key highlights from their analysis include the current draft plans could deliver a 17% reduction in water use per person, less than the 20% target in the Environment Act 2021; and the plans could deliver a 1.8% reduction in business water use by 2037/38, less than the 9% government target. Overall, the Agency believes that the “plans require further refinement and improvement to meet guidelines, legal requirements, and our expectations”. Read more here.
Plan to Protect and Restore Previous Chalk Streams formally launched at Chalk Stream Conference
On 15th June, the Catchment Based Approach (CaBA) Chalk Stream Restoration Group hosted an event focussing on the launch of their Implementation Plan. The conference covered actions needed to protect and enhance chalk streams, and to drive forward the implementation of a national strategy. Read more about the conference and plan here.
Natural Flood Management Research
Working with the University of Bristol, the Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) have investigated a range of Natural Flood Management (NFM) schemes and compiled their findings into a study available on their website. Read the report here.
Credit: FWAG SW & University of Bristol
Hottest June kills UK fish and threatens insects
This June was the UK’s hottest June on record and has caused the deaths of fish in rivers and disturbed insects and plants across the country, with temperatures reaching as high as 32.2C. Read this article to find out more.