Five man-made barriers in rivers have been removed or altered to allow fish to move more freely in the Eden’s tributaries. Aimed particularly at helping trout and salmon, they will also help other species such as eels, lampreys and bullheads.
The work has been carried out this summer in the Penrith and Brampton areas by Eden Rivers Trust. It is part of a project funded by Defra to make sure the Eden meets the strict requirements of the European legislation known as the Water Framework Directive. Parts of the Eden are currently failing to meet the criteria of this Directive and are classed as “moderate” or “poor” in terms of fish populations.
In the Brampton area a tributary of the Kingwater called Stone Beck has been opened up to migrating fish. The Old Petteril has been made more accessible where it passes beneath the M6 near Calthwaite, north of Penrith. In the Morland Beck, a tributary of the River Lyvennet near Penrith , a weir has been made more passable to fish, and on the River Lyvennet itself two further barriers were tackled.
Simon Johnson, Director of Eden Rivers Trust, said, “Removing and modifying barriers is an essential step in ERT’s strategy to restore the Eden to a more dynamic and naturally functioning river system. In many cases total removal brings benefits to wildlife and also removes bottlenecks that can cause localised flooding problems in rural and urban communities.”
Near Lanercost a road bridge over Stone Beck, a tributary of the Kingwater was altered to benefit fish. The concrete apron of the bridge had a broken edge, creating a step which was too high for fish to swim over. A ramp of rocks was created in the channel to cover the step and then concrete kerbs were used under the bridge itself to create pools which fish can swim through.
The M6 motorway crosses the Old Petteril near Calthwaite and the bridge culvert is so wide and flat that there is often only a shallow film of water which fish cannot swim through. Concrete kerbs were used to create a narrower, deeper channel which would allow fish to migrate up and down this river.
In the River Lyvennet a disused concrete ford which was difficult for fish to move past was completely removed. Further up the same river is a major weir which is often impassable to migrating fish. The old mill channel around this weir was altered in an attempt to allow fish to move past this particular barrier. Another weir on the same river system had a simple wood and metal fish pass attached to allow fish to move up and down the Morland Beck.
All these actions will enable fish populations to spread more easily throughout these rivers, to find more breeding and feeding areas and hopefully expand their populations.
