Cain Bio Engineering

Posted By: mike on 22/01/2010 12:36

In October 2009 Cain Bio's river team implemented a 650m river restoration scheme on the upper Hampshire Avon at East Chisenbury in Wiltshire.

This is the second phase of 'design/build' work that CBE has undertaken at Chisenbury for 'Wessex Chalk Streams Project', a partnership between the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust, Natural England, the Environment Agency and Wessex Water plc .

The project focused on returning sinuosity and hydro-morphological function to this straightened and overwidened river section which is believed to have been dredged for 'Land Drainage Improvements' in 1962.

'Before' showing linear dredged channel covered in sand and no weeds. 'After' showing meandering channel with ponded backwater

This habitat creation scheme will benefit key BAP species including Water vole, indigenous brown trout, Bull head, Brook Lamprey and Ranunculus community.

Before: Heavy deposits of green sand blanket the engineered (straightened & widened) channel
After: Typical channel works at XS 4 showing creation of meander sequence, pinch points, sediment sinks and marginal wetland zones using woody debris.

This restoration reach is the subject of a joint chalkstream monitoring programme undertaken by Wessex Water plc and CBE Ltd, the initial results of which will be published during 2010. See forthcoming project reports for details.

Click to read Wessex Water's commentry: http://www.wessexwater.co.uk/news/threecol.aspx?id=4718


'Before' showing linear dredged channel covered in sand and no weeds.		'After' showing meandering channel with ponded backwater


Before: Heavy deposits of green sand blanket the engineered (straightened & widened) channel		After: Typical channel works at XS 4 showing creation of meander sequence, pinch points, sediment sinks and marginal wetland zones using woody debris.

Before: Heavy deposits of green sand blanket the engineered (straightened & widened) channel After: Typical channel works at XS 4 showing creation of meander sequence, pinch points, sediment sinks and marginal wetland zones using woody debris.

Before: Heavy deposits of green sand blanket the engineered (straightened & widened) channel
After: Typical channel works at XS 4 showing creation of meander sequence, pinch points, sediment sinks and marginal wetland zones using woody debris.