Under the Water Framework Directive (WFD), each river is broken down into individual water bodies (stretches of river and associated catchment of varied sizes). On the Lower Derwent, the water body up-stream of Workington (DER005) was failing to meet its WFD target due to various historic structures associated with the abandoned railway line that criss-crosses the river.
In partnership with the principle landowner (Leconfield Estates), it was agreed that these structures could be removed during the summer of 2013. The abutments and buttresses were removed from three points - ‘Upper Codfitz’, ‘Lower Codfitz’ and ‘Suicide Pool’ - named after the names devised by local fishermen for these sections of the river. Following removal the banks were re-profiled and fenced off to exclude livestock. One year on, and following a very long wet winter the river has stabilised without any significant erosion.
See the Upper Codfitz, Lower Codfitz and Suicide Pool project sub-pages for photos and time-lapse videos of the works.
| Name | Type | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Archaeological Level 2 Survey of Lower Derwent Abutment & Buttresses | 7.2 MB |
