Reston Scar; Natural Flood Management Project

Over the coming weeks we will be delivering a natural flood management project at Reston Scar above Staveley.

Timber deployment on Reston Scar

Natural flood management projects ‘mimic’ natural processes to help slow the flow of water. In addition they often increase resilience to drought conditions and help increase local biodiversity. The aim of the project at Reston Scar is to ‘test and trial’ new techniques to reduce flood risk for rural communities. We will be installing several leaky timber structures and undertaking drainage works to store, divert and slow flows during storm events. Materials used on site are locally sourced, where possible.

Timber Forwarder on Reston Scar

Once installed we will be undertaking a monitoring programme, to help us understand how they are functioning under different conditions. Do you live locally? Would you like to help us monitor the project by taking photos during a range of weather events? If so please get in touch

This project is funded by the Environment Agency, as part of a wider programme across Cumbria. A monitoring programme will help to fill gaps in knowledge at a national level, with many of the projects being viewed as ‘trial’ projects.

Examples of Natural Flood Management projects delivered by South Cumbria Rivers Trust:

Leaky Dam above Troutbeck Bridge

Leaky dam during storm event

Run-off attenuation feature storing water during a storm event.

Leaky timber dam in the Upper Kent, with monitoring pipe.

Large Woody Debris Structure helping to slow the flow above Troutbeck Bridge

Covid-19 and Site Safety

South Cumbria Rivers Trust and the contractors are following current government construction and leadership guidelines when undertaking this work, and procedures are in place to ensure we are complying to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

On-site public rights of way and access routes will remain open. However, please respect contractors and site safety, and keep your distance.

More Information

We have now competed the practical interventions for this project and other NFM projects around the local catchment. For more information about these projects, please take a look at this page.

Many thanks to our contractors Catchment Designs who have been fantastic in scoping and delivering this project. Check out their website to find out more about their services.