28. Denham Country Park Backwater

Aims: Improve wildlife corridors; Work together

Water body: River Colne
Project description

Working in partnership to create a backwater on the River Colne in Denham Country Park. 

 The project involved creating a backwater on the River Colne approximately 20m in length, 15m in width, with a water depth of up to 1m. A short channel with a length of 4m was also excavated to connect the Colne and the backwater, which involved going underneath a public footbridge. Backwaters provide excellent habitat for juvenile fish, as well providing refuge during pollution and flooding incidents. This project will hopefully help to achieve WFD objectives, and also be a step towards increasing rod licence revenue, with the improvement of angling amenity as well as allowing us to act on our statutory duty to protect and maintain fisheries in this catchment. Gained material has been used on site to create berms on the River Colne with marginal shelves. The Lower Colne is sediment rich, so narrowing the river will help increase the flow to reduce deposition. This will help to improve the gravel bed, which is required for fish spawning. The backwater project was completed on 13/2/2018.

The Key objectives were:

  • Improve juvenile fish survival
  • Create fish refuge areas from predation
  • Increase rod licence revenue
  • Improve morphology of the river and remove impoundment
  • Improve fisheries habitat 
Project lead: Environment Agency
Project partners: Buckinghamshire County Council, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxon Wildlife Trust
Contact for more information: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Project start: Jan 2018
Project end: Feb 2018
Funding source: Environment Agency

Design by LTD Design Consultants and build by Garganey Consulting. From an original concept by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust.