29/04/2005 - The future
development and improvement of urban rivers
and water resources will be under the spotlight
next week.
Delegates at the SMURF Project Conference
on Urban River Management and the Water Framework
Directive, which is being held next Tuesday
and Wednesday (4 and 5 May 2005) in Birmingham,
will get an insight into a Birmingham based
project to restore stretches of the city’s
rivers blighted by modification.
The first day will see the people directly
involved in the SMURF project share their
experiences about the key parts of this complex
operation. The project has dealt with modified
rivers such as the Rea and Tame, which run
through the city.
Representatives from the Environment Agency,
Birmingham City Council and HR Wallingford
will present on issues such as Catchment Planning
Systems and Environmental Sustainability Indicators.
The SMURF Project placed a major emphasis
on community consultation and involvement,
and members of the community group will also
be presenting to the conference on how they
have been involved.
Over recent months, a demonstration-site
has taken shape in an area of Birmingham called
Perry Hall Playing Fields, which the River
Tame runs through.
During the afternoon of the first day, delegates
will get the chance to visit this site and
get an insight into the how the concepts of
river regeneration considered by SMURF have
been made a reality.
The first section of the second day will
see presentations considering wider issues
concerning water resources. David Martin,
the Environment Agency’s Water Framework Directive
Policy Manager, will address River Basin Planning
and Yvonne Rees, of the Water Research Council,
will give a presentation on the The HarmoniCOP
project. Dr Harald Rahm, of StUA Herten, will
describe the River Emscher redevelopment project,
a similar project to the SMURF undertaken
on a tributary of the River Rhine.
Delegates will then have the choice to attend
one of three sessions. Two workshops will
be run by key players in the SMURF project
and will deal with community involvement and
river basin planning.
Those not taking part in either of the workshops
can attend a project fair, where those involved
in projects dealing with river enhancement,
integrated catchment management and flood
management will present on how .
Projects include the Urban River Basin Enhancement
Methods (URBEM) project, the Planning for
Urban-rural River Environments (PURE), and
the Cycleau project, and the Water4All project.
This section of the day will end with a general
discussion concerning the findings of the
workshops and issues raised by the project
fair.
The conference will conclude with three presentations.
Geo Arnold, of RIZA, will present on the the
Harmoni-CA project and WISE/CE, Dr Amanda
Wright and Caroline Riley, of the Mersey Basin
Campaign will present on the campaign and
Professor Geoff Petts, the University of Birmingham
will present on The future for urban rivers
A concluding address, ‘SMURF in the future’,
will be given by John Fitzsimons, the Midlands
Flood Defence Manager and Project Executive.
Speaking about the event, the Smurf Project
Manager, Mark Scott, says: ‘One of the principal
objectives for the Project was to investigate
develop new ways of returning urban rivers
to a more natural state. This conference will
give all involved an opportunity to share
their findings and the approaches developed.
Hopefully they will be taken away and applied
to similar projects so other cities and their
populations can benefit in the same way that
Birmingham has.’
Councillor Ken Hardeman, Cabinet Member for
Regeneration comments, "This project
has provided a real opportunity for the City
Council to work closely with the Environment
Agency, local residents and other partners.
I am confident that it is leading to a greater
understanding of urban watercourses and the
development of ways to help improve the quality
of life for local people. It will also help
regeneration initiatives both here in Birmingham
and elsewhere."
Notes:
SMURF is a three-year partnership project
that started in August 2002. This project
is supported financially by the EU LIFE-Environment
programme. It is a partnership involving,
amongst others, the Environment Agency, Birmingham
City Council, Severn Trent Water and The University
of Birmingham. The project’s web-site address
is www.smurf-project.info
It is based on the River Tame in the West
Midlands – specifically the urban area of
the river catchment that includes Birmingham
and a large part of the Black Country. The
River Tame is a typical example of an urban
river – polluted, heavily modified by culverting,
straightening, re-routing and with concrete
banks and few natural features.
SMURF aims to tackle the environmental problems
on the Tame by integrating the planning and
management of land-use, water quality, ecology
and flooding. It is intended that the methods
developed by the SMURF project will be used
as a model for work on similar rivers throughout
the UK and the European Community.
Overall the SMURF project aims to:
Improve the amenity, ecology and sustainability
of the river Tame catchment
Involve local people in the planning of the
river basin
Establish ecological objectives for the river
system and a transferable Sustainable Indicators
set
Develop a detailed land-use planning model
to help with future redevelopment in the floodplain
and protect the community from future impacts
of climate change
Demonstrate how small scale changes can significantly
improve a heavily modified river.
