<
https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20240918-how-restoring-rivers-natural-curves-can-prevent-flooding>
"Swindale Beck, a stream in Cumbria, in the heart of the UK's Lake District,
meanders through fields, farmland and valleys. However, not long ago, the river
took a far more linear course.
A healthy river should be sinuous, free flowing and replete with wildlife. In
Britain, however, 97% of rivers are fragmented by artificial barriers like
weirs. Now, there is at least one artificial barrier for every 1.5km of stream
in the country. And for centuries rivers have been slowly canalised – or
artificially straightened – to stop water from flooding and spilling onto
farmland and houses.
But removing a river's natural meanders has, in fact, achieved the opposite
effect. Instead, it's disrupted the flow of rivers and degraded aquatic
habitats, water quality and heightened flood risk. As the poor health of
Europe's rivers and streams continues to make news – due to dwindling wildlife,
sewage pollution and agricultural runoff – communities are turning towards
natural solutions to restore their rivers.
Some rivers are being restored with natural flood management techniques (NFM),
such as leaky woody dams, tree planting and beaver pens. One idea is to add
wiggles back into rivers, streams and tributaries. Across the world, from the
Netherlands, the US and the UK, rivers are slowly being re-wiggled, to return
them to their natural course. And, in the UK, the rewards are starting to pay
off, with fish, birds and invertebrates flocking back to rivers in Cumbria and
West Sussex."
Via
Positive.News
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
