ADAS has been commissioned to undertake tracing and modelling work to inform the improved management of the sediment problem across the River Test CSF priority catchment.
Enhanced sediment loadings delivered to lowland chalk rivers are perceived to be a key driver in the widely reported decline of salmonid fisheries. The fine-grained sediment ingressing salmonid redds hampers exchanges of dissolved oxygen by incubating eggs and the eventual emergence by newly hatched fry. In response, targeted programmes of advice and on-farm intervention are being used to deliver improved catchment management for addressing compliance failures and these initiatives include Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF), currently in its third phase. Appropriate targeting of advice and interventions including those supported by the CSF Capital Grant scheme depend upon a robust and compelling evidence base for the sources of key pollutants including fine-grained sediment. This evidence base should be spatially explicit to assist the engagement of catchment stakeholders including farmers, local authorities and the Highways Agency.
The Environment Agency has recently commissioned an ADAS team led by Professor Adrian Collins and Dr Yusheng Zhang to undertake tracing and modelling work to inform the improved management of the sediment problem across the River Test CSF priority catchment. The research will provide practical evidence to support the targeting of CSF advice and delivery and Environment Agency work by quantifying the relative sediment contributions of tributary sub-catchments.
To deliver the programme of work, ADAS will use its recently refined numerical source apportionment modelling framework combining both local and genetic algorithm optimisation. The ADAS team delivers catchment pollutant source apportionment work for a range of clients including Defra, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Salmon and Trout Association, the Wild Trout Trust, Somerset County Council, and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and this work is recognised internationally as being at the cutting edge of this area of catchment science.
For further information regarding the work on the River Test CSF priority catchment, or for more general enquiries regarding pollutant source apportionment for river catchments, please contact Professor Adrian Collins on adrian.collins@adas.co.uk or 01902 693404.