This has been an incredibly busy period of the Wandle Trust, and last week saw the start of another major restoration project to the River Wandle.

This new project is in Carshalton, focusing on a stretch of river at Butterhill Bridge which is currently impounded by a weir from a former mill. This has resulted in a large buildup of sediment on the river bottom – not an ideal habitat for any fish! On top of this, the weir itself is impassable to fish. Although a fish pass was installed a number of years ago, this has proved to be ineffective due to the length and angle at which it was installed preventing fish from successfully passing.

But never fear, the Wandle Trust is here! Over the next few weeks we will be lowering the weir and re-shaping the river using the excess sediment to create a gentle and natural meander.  The first step towards this was dropping the current water levels by opening a sluice on the weir. Once the water level has dropped, we are calling in the contractors!

Watch this space…