The impact of straight rivers – a work experience report.

This report was written and researched by Dillon Dymond-Hitchen, DCRT work experience student.

Canalisation is the process of straightening rivers. This process is carried out so that the navigability of rivers is increased. During canalisation, the river channel is deepened and widened by using dredging. Dredging is the process of removing silt and other materials from a body of water. However, one disadvantage of canalisation is the loss of wetlands, which are an excellent habitat for many forms of wildlife. Wetlands are covered with water for all or most of the year which is important as it allows for an increase in habitats for fish and maintains a balanced ecosystem. A balanced ecosystem ensures the stability of organisms and the environment. The process of canalisation aims to straighten rivers which means removing meanders. Meandering rivers provide natural river banks that can resist flooding allowing wildlife to live there.

A historical example of river straightening is the Dutch River Case Study, which is located in East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. Here the process of river straightening was started in the 1600s by King Charles I who wanted to drain rivers flowing into the River Trent including parts of the River Don. This was all to create more valuable land in this region of the country which could be used for agriculture and other types of industry. By diverting large amounts of water down a single river channel the land around the river was flooded. This meant that the engineer employed by King Charles I, Cornelius Vermuyden, created a relief drain channel to divert some of the water off and into the River Ouse. As a result, this project was largely considered a success as it completed its desired objective. However, for the locals, it was received rather negatively as the project caused life-changing damage to the local area.

Another example of river straightening was during the 1700 and 1800s. During this period there was a growing need for more navigable rivers for boats to travel on due to the industrial revolution which was taking place at the time in these regions. This meant that rivers needed to be suitable for allowing the trade of goods and passenger carriage. At the time, you could only travel by boat as far inland as Doncaster. Therefore, to improve the navigability of rivers there needed to be some improvements. Due to the desired improvements of the rivers, the process of canalisation was pushed by factory owners, mainly from Sheffield. This was to allow for more improved trade of goods to other major towns such as Barnsley and Doncaster. However, a disadvantage of this meant that peoples’ homes were destroyed to allow for the creation of a route on which boats could travel. Another negative effect of canalisation was the significant damage caused to wildlife and their habitats.

Now in the modern day, it is known that as a result of river straightening that took place over the past hundreds of years in these regions, there have been serious damaging effects on the local wildlife and the ecosystem. As a result of this, the process of re-meandering rivers is now being used to increase the amount of diversity of wildlife in rivers. The reason why the numbers of certain wildlife have decreased due to river straightening is that the speed at which the water travels is increased when the river is straightened. This usually does not affect the area where the river straightening took place but affects land around the river downstream. This leads to the wildlife and their habitats being disturbed or even destroyed as a result of greater amounts of erosion taking place due to the river’s natural path being altered. This demonstrates why it is important for the process of re-meandering rivers to take place.

Overall, taking into account all of the above arguments, it is clear that the re-meandering of rivers needs to take place. Due to the hundreds of years of river straightening there has been a serious decline in biodiversity in our rivers. This decline not only affects wildlife and the environment but also us as humans. For humans, a decrease in biodiversity in rivers means that there could be food shortages due to changes in river ecosystems. This shows us how important rivers are to humans and therefore by restoring them to their natural state it will not only benefit wildlife but also us.

Dillon’s Work Experience with DCRT

In this blog, we hear from Dillon from Chesterfield, who is studying Geography in sixth-form and recently completed a work experience placement at DCRT.

My week-long work experience with Don Catchment Rivers Trust was great as it allowed me, as a Geography A-level student, to gather more knowledge and understanding of the things I have learnt in sixth form and how they are applied in the real world. I took part in many jobs during my work experience ranging from completing riverfly surveys with volunteers to completing outdoor school sessions with year 4’s, and much more. I also want to mention how great the staff were. They were friendly and explained everything comprehensively so I could have a clear understanding of what they were doing. For example, explaining how they were managing the removal of an invasive species of plant from Moss Valley. This all allowed me to gain a further understanding of what a career in this sector would be like. I thought the week flowed seamlessly as earlier in the week when completing the riverfly survey with volunteers, I was able to learn about certain characteristics of riverflies which I would later use to help year 4’s in undertaking their own riverfly surveys. Not only did the work experience placement provide me with a number of onsite opportunities, it also gave me experience of undertaking a work from home project.

This project was of my own choosing from a number of subject matters that the Trust provided me with. I chose to research further into how completing river straightening has led to decreased biodiversity in and around rivers. Therefore, leading to the argument that reversing river straightening and re-meandering of our rivers is important to allow for increased biodiversity (you can read Dillon’s report here). I also felt that the staff did a great job in coordinating my travel arrangements for the week so I could visit numerous sites around Derbyshire and Yorkshire. Overall, I really enjoyed this experience and I believe it will be of valuable use for my future career and study choices. Finally, I also want to thank the team at the Trust for making my work experience a rewarding time.

Thank you so much Dillon for joining the team, getting stuck in and being a fantastic work experience student!!!