Opening up spawning grounds

Lead River Restoration Officer Liam was out on the river Clwyd today finishing off our last in-river project for 2023.

Culverts, by design, are less than ideal for facilitating fish movement, often obstructing fish passage and detrimentally affecting biodiversity. The implementation of baffles in these culverts was a pivotal step in addressing this issue. Baffles are structures designed to modify the flow of water within the culvert.

In this particular case, the baffles have worked extremely well. They effectively increased the water depth from a meager 5cm to a substantially deeper 26cm, a critical improvement for fish migration.

Additionally, they served to slow down the flow of water, providing fish with a more favorable environment for passage.

Before: The flow is fast and shallow making it difficult for fish to migrate.

After: Adding baffles to this culvert has reduced the water velocity and increased the depth of water from 5cm to 26cm.