Objectives
Sustainable rural regeneration
Water-based quarry restoration
The overall project objective is to provide a review of water-based restoration methodologies and determine the success of different restoration strategies employed subsequent to mineral extraction beneath the watertable. Key elements of this are to develop assessment criteria to prioritise water-based restoration objectives and determine physical and practical constraints of each restoration scheme. The focus is on the hydrogeological and hydrological environment and the influence that this has on the final restoration scheme. The engineering requirements associated with different restoration objectives form an integral part of the study.
It is intended that the project will inform the planning process such that restoration schemes can be tailored to address local issues such as low flows, scarce water resources, flooding, landscape setting and ecological diversity.
The project comprises:
- a review of the methodology and approaches used for water-based restoration within published literature and discussions with interested parties
- a detailed study of a number of sites in different settings
Issues associated with water-based restoration are being examined via
detailed case studies of sites within North Yorkshire, centred about the
catchments of the Rivers Ure and Swale. The area provides an excellent
example of the many, often conflicting, water-related issues that must
be considered during restoration design.
The work involves input from experts in the fields of ecology, landscape, hydrogeology, hydrology, engineering and quarry operations.
A steering group composed of partner members monitor the progress and provide input to the investigation.