We are delighted to announce that the Eddleston Water Project near Peebles has gained global recognition by being chosen as a UNESCO Ecohydrology Demonstration Site – the only one in the UK.
The Eddleston Water Project is a living laboratory that is collecting evidence of the benefits of Natural Flood Management techniques. These aim to enhance flood resilience through the restoration of natural processes that slow water flows and, increase the amount of water stored in the landscape. This will help reduce the risk of flooding to communities downstream, providing adaptation to climate change, while simultaneously also improving the biodiversity of the river catchment.
The project will be included as a Demonstration Site in the UNESCO Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), part of the intergovernmental UN system that’s dedicated to water research and management, with the aim of supporting the creation of policies that achieve water quality improvement, biodiversity enhancement and sustainable development.
The measures we have implemented across the 69km2 Eddleston Water catchment include the creation of 38 new ponds to catch surface water flow and hold water back, and the re-meandering of some 3.5km of once-straightened river channels. Over a hundred engineered log structures have been created on streams in the upper catchment. Built to allow fish to pass underneath, these slow excess water by directing it into land on either side of the river channel. Over 330,000 native trees have also been planted across the catchment. As well as having a positive impact on ecology and sequestering carbon, in time these will also aid water infiltration in upstream areas where floods are generated and will help to slow overland water flows.
Results to date have shown reduced peak water levels downstream during heavy rain as well as a delay of up to 7 hours in the timing of river peaks, which gives people more time to prepare and take action. There has also been a rise in fish numbers due to increasing the channel length through re-meandering, and a recovery in the diversity and numbers of aquatic invertebrates in response to the range of new habitats created within the re-meandered channels. Other species including kingfishers, dippers, lampreys and otters will also benefit from improvements to river habitats.
This is the second time that our work has been recognised by UNESCO. In 2009, our Catchment Management Planning initiative, which aims to protect, enhance and restore the total river environment, was recognised for its standard-setting work by the UNESCO HELP river basin management programme, of which we are now a member.