Across the Warwickshire Avon Catchment, we are looking to restore rivers and streams to flow more naturally. Many organisations and volunteers are looking at ways to support river wildlife during flood and drought conditions.
We are going to have hotter and drier summers, and wetter, milder winters – we need to make river habitats healthier to cope with these changes.
Many rivers have been straightened in the past and unnatural, reinforced banks have been added.
In Coventry, large stretches of the river Sherbourne were modified with weirs, culverts and straightened channels, and the river is disconnected from its floodplain. In summer, it suffers with low levels of water, and some stretches dry up completely.
The Sherbourne Valley Project, led by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, is working to make the river more natural with links to its floodplain, wetland creation, weir bypasses and removal, and by putting gravel and old tree branches into the river. The variety of habitats creates safe havens for wildlife during both low flows and in flood.
At North Brook, the river has been allowed to re find its natural course and link to its floodplain again, called Stage Zeroing, and a culvert has been removed. Water quality is improving, with silt being trapped out of the river, and increased capacity to slow the water, reducing the flood levels downstream. The river will be more resilient and able to cope with extreme weather.
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