Bodenham Lake Reprofiling
Client: Herefordshire Wildlife Trust
Location: Bodenham Lake
Service: Wetland Creation
Project Outline:
The aim of the project is to reprofile Bodenham Lake to allow plants, particularly reedbed, to establish and provide habitat for a range of wildlife.
Re-profiling and creation of reedbeds at Bodenham Lake
These works are part of an ambitious project of wetland habitat restoration and creation to improve the connectivity for wildlife along the River Lugg. Herefordshire Wildlife Trust (HWT) has worked to reduce pollution entering the river, improve soil health and create wildlife corridors that are vital for wildlife to disperse throughout the landscape. Extreme weather events, caused by climate change, including flooding, have made these corridors more important than ever for the survival of species.
Bodenham Lake in the River Lugg was formed by the extraction of gravel and is the largest water body in Herefordshire. It is crucial for breeding otter and wildfowl. However, the value of the lake as a nature reserve is limited by the habitat; aquatic vegetation grows in very small quantities as the Lake is steep sided and extremely deep.
These works are part of the Nutrient Management Plan within the River Lugg system and consist of reprofiling of large stretches of the lake edge to vary the depth of water and create areas of reedbed.
A credit to Herefordshire Wildlife Trust for the aerial shots on the Bodenham Lake project.
The works involved largescale earth moving to create the channels and small ponds on the edge of the lake in 3 separate areas. To minimise the environmental impact of the works, a silt curtain was installed around each area as excavation works were underway. It was a challenge to ensure that the curtain was in the correct place and stayed in place whilst works were underway but it has worked well. We have been proud to work on this collaborative project with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust and The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust.
