River Condition Assessment Requirements
The development site red line boundary included several small headwater tributaries of the River Itchen. The client required an understanding of the site’s Biodiversity Net Gain baseline, including baseline watercourse units, to inform future plans for the area. Parts of the site were active construction sites, so a current CSCS accreditation and DEFRA Working in Water training were essential.
Scoping and delivery of River Condition Assessments
We conducted an initial desk-based site assessment using open-source data, including LiDAR, Historic Mapping, OS Maps, the Water Framework Directive (WFD), and Geology. This data was utilised, alongside flow pathway geospatial analysis, to understand which watercourses would be classified as higher distinctiveness ‘River and Streams’, and which might be classified as ‘Ditches’. Watercourses were broken down into reaches, and nineteen MoRPh5 surveys were planned.
An initial walkover was undertaken to ensure the accuracy of desk-based reach apportionment. Following this, all field-based surveys were conducted, and data were recorded using the Cartographer App. Additional photographic records and notes were recorded using a bespoke ESRI Survey123 form, which was later used to provide broader context and encroachment information.
All data went through our internal quality assurance process and was summarised in a report, along with all cartographer outputs. In addition to providing a summary of the data, we offered suggestions for increasing river condition for each reach and provided an overview of encroachment.
High Quality RCA Data
All condition data was provided on time and on budget, along with additional support in completing the Biodiversity Metric. The specialists at Johns Associates were highly skilled and a pleasure to work with.
Find out more
We offer a complete service for clients interested in Watercourse Biodiversity Net Gain, from scoping to initial surveys, through to full detailed design. For more details, see Watercourse Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG), and please get in touch to discuss your project Contact.
