Weir Removal
Project at a glance
Area of focus
A small weir on the Bruern Estate was removed to provide fish passage, improve hydromorphology and to restore river habitat on the River Evenlode.
Barriers and structures, like weirs, can be problematic for fish passage and sediment scour. Weirs can degrade habitat and water quality upstream by causing sedimentation. Downstream they can cause unnatural scour to the riverbed due to the impact of the water flow.
This weir was approximately 4m wide. It is not known how old this weir is or why it was constructed.
Objectives
To remove the weir to allow fish passage, improve hydromorphology and to restore river habitat. Weirs are a barrier to fish passage and create an artificial hydromorphology and river habitat.
The ECP aims to return rivers to a more natural state whenever we have the opportunity. This weir was not serving any function for the estate and therefore it was very easy to argue for its removal.
Outcomes
One weir successfully removed
Fish passage enabled
River more naturally free flowing
Project highlights
This project was very cost effective. All material was kept on site and reused as riverbed habitat, as there were a lot of boulders and rocks underneath the weir that could be repurposed. The landowner was very cooperative which helped deliver the project.
Lessons learnt
- Dry weather was helpful!
- Receiving permits for weir removal can take time, so good communication with the Environment Agency is important.
Future plans
- The ECP aims to remove more weirs where feasible.
- Not all weirs can be removed, so other fish passage solutions will need to be progressed to improve connectivity for the River Evenlode.
- The morphology was surveyed before the work, and we would like to repeat the surveys to understand how the riverbed has responded to the weir removal.
Funding
Total cost: £4,250*
Funded by the Open Rivers Programme (EU funding).
*€5,000 Open Rivers Programme grant. Conversion calculated with the currency conversion rate at the time of receipt.