Title: Anglian Region joint study on water resources availability for wetland creation : final report
Author: Clair Souch
Author: Joanne Gilbert
Author: David Gowing
Author: Tim Hess
Author: Emilia Fiorini
Document Type: Monograph
Abstract:
This study aims to investigate the availability of surface water as an opportunity or a constraint to the creation or enhancement of those freshwater wetland habitats with biodiversity priority in the Environment Agency’s Anglian region. Three levels of detail have been used to identify potential areas for wetland creation on a catchment and sub-catchment basis using freshwater availability as a constraining factor. The first level was the coarsest, using land use information and the indicative floodplain area to select suitable lowland sites. The second level used a combination of soil and hydrological data to select areas where both the soil was suitable and sufficient water was available to support wetland creation. Detailed requirements of wet grassland, reedbed, fen and wet woodland were used to filter the data held within a GIS to create maps illustrating the extent o f the potential area of habitat creation. The third level restricted the area of study to The Fens and Suffolk Coast Natural Areas. A detailed analysis was undertaken by dividing the suitable soil areas according to the tributaries and reaches of river used displayed in the MicroLowFlows package held by the Environment Agency. This enabled an assessment of the water resource availability over areas significantly smaller than catchment scale. The results of this study indicate that large areas of the Anglian region are suitable for wetland creation. The assumption that ‘available’ water can be defined as the volume between the mean flow and Q95 low flow gives rise to large quantities for use in the calculations. It is recognised that current restrictions on abstraction would render this water unavailable, but our calculations have been carried out to aid the planning of water-resource allocation rather than to provide a wetland creation scheme. The results should inform the Regional Water Resources Strategy, Biodiversity Action Plan targets and future abstraction licensing policy including the forthcoming Catchment Abstraction Management Strategies process.
Publisher: Environment Agency
Publication Date: 2000
Publication Place: Bedfford
Subject Keywords: Wetlands; Water resources; Flood control; Land use; Modelling; Data analysis; Environmental planning
Geographic Keywords: East Anglia; EA Anglian; The Fens
Extent: 42; + maps
Permalink: http://www.environmentdata.org/archive/ealit:235
Total file downloads: 348
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