The Bourne Rivulet Initiative Gail Taylor
Our membership – a partnership Hants and IOW Local community Wildlife Trust Environment Agency Angling interests Water company Bourne Rivulet River restoration Local land owners Management University of Southampton Natural England Vitacress Conservation Riparian Owners Trust Vitacress Salads
Aims • Provide a focus for meeting of all agencies, stakeholders and representative groups interested in the Bourne Rivulet • Agree ideal state ; identify deficiencies; agree actions to rectify; implement and review • Develop an action plan for the multi-purpose long- term management of the Bourne Rivulet • Undertake applied research and take expert advice as necessary • Develop approach on the Bourne Rivulet as an exemplar for other headwaters such as on The Itchen
Current Activities • New PhD research being commissioned – Diffuse pollution, co-funded by Wessex Rivers Trust • Restoration work on east channel • Two year electro-fishing study • Plans for scoping study for a wetland underway • Concerns about St Mary Bourne Sewage pumping
Improvements to the Eastern Channel - before works
Restored sinuosity with riffles.
Provision for a cattle ford and watering point
Road drain before removal to discharge into a sediment trap.
Fish community surveys • Fish are good indicators of overall ecosystem health and key to the value of chalk headwaters – part of ‘good ecological status’ • Data on fish in chalk headwaters are relatively scarce • Need for whole community data on fish in the Bourne Rivulet – including “minor” species that elude catching & catch records www.fishstockphotography.com
Table 1 Dates, locations and site descriptions for electro-fishing surveys conducted. Site name Location (NGR at Dates Site description upstream end of surveyed reach) Malyon SU431486 3/8/2010 90m reach, recently rehabilitated (including bank re- 5/4/2011 grading and coarse woody debris) to provide mixed habitat. 27/7/2011 Overhanging trees, more abundant on left hand bank. Footpath and fishing access on right hand bank. Testbourne SU441461 24/8/2010 90m reach, generally of uniform depth and relatively 4/4/2011 shallow. Overhanging trees, more abundant on left hand 28/7/2011 bank. Footpath and fishing access on right hand bank. Testbourne SU441462 29/7/2011 90m reach immediately upstream of the gauging weir. weir Generally uniform in depth with large overhanging trees on both banks. Lower Link SU430491 4/8/2010 Three converging reaches (54m, 49m and 9m) maintained 6/4/2011 by water discharged from Lower Link Farm. Recently 26/7/2011 created, generally narrow (ca. 1-2m) surrounded by marginal vegetation that is cut intermittently.
Table 2 Species observed at each site and total numbers sampled in three-pass electric fishing surveys, over ca . 90m. Data are totals for catches over three passes. Species: Malyon reach Testbourne reach Testbourne Lower Link streams weir reach 3/8/2010 5/4/2011 27/7/2011 24/8/2010 4/4/2011 28/7/2011 29/7/2011 4/8/2010 6/4/1011 26/7/2011 Brown 96 4 168 71 3 108 6 37 6 10 trout (<125mm) Brown 26 4 14 24 5 11 19 4 7 2 trout (>125mm) Bullhead 223 111 71 279 137 465 124 68 103 114 Grayling 0 0 0 14 0 10 1 0 0 0 (<125mm) Grayling 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 (>125mm) Minnow 0 0 0 36 13 70 0 0 0 0 3-spined 2 1 3 20 0 6 1 30 2 16 stickleback Stone 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 loach Brook 4 5 1 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 lamprey Eel 0 0 1 2 1 6 0 0 0 0 Species 4 4 5 8 5 8 4 3 4 3 richness
Electric fishing surveys 2010-2013 Completed Planned Site Year 1 (2010-2011) Year 2 (2011-2012) Year 3 (2012- 2013) August April July/August March/April July/August Malyon Testbourne Lower Link Testbourne Weir Site 5 Site 6
St Mary Bourne – sewage, overpumping and flooding to homes Flooding and sewage back-up to the village when ground water is high -particularly 11 properties – raw sewage Southern Water have implemented a pumped solution to these properties in St Mary Bourne village that were subject to foul sewage backing up The BRI is calling for a hydrogeological survey to identify rising springs with a view to developing a proposal to drain these rather than sewage to the Bourne.
Objectives ectives - wetl tland WWT com ommissioned sioned for or scop oping ing To identify and explore the potential for the establishment of a multifunctional wetland at Lower Link Farm, considering: • Environmental factors: effects on water quality, temperature etc. • Sustainability issues: review of carbon and energy balances • Cultural and location issues: recreational activities, cultural values • Statutory and financial matters: outline costs and benefits
Thank you! ‘
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