With animals and people living so close to the river and its catchment, there are things that we can all do to maintain the river in a healthy way. This will benifit the plants and animals that live in or close to the habitat. The following list suggests some ways that we can help the quality of the Black River.
DO's
Things we can do to improve the water quality and biodiversity of the River :
Do allow logs and branches to remain in the river, as long as it’s not totally blocked.
These provide substrate for a vast array of insects and plants, and provides shade from sun and protection from predators for fish and birds.
Do allow rocks and boulders to remain in the river.
Rocks and boulders in a stream cause turbulence in flow, which keeps fine sediment moving, which removes the need for continual mechanical drainage for farmers. Rocks and boulders are also vital for microenvironments and biodiversity, give shelter for insects and small fish, and anchor points for water weeds which add oxygen to the water. Rocks also provide protection and territorial markers for fish. In large sections of the Black River, all the rocks and boulders have been removed from the river to be used as bank protection, building material, and during drainage. Remediation in many areas would require replacement of some rocks.
Do leave a “wild” area adjacent to all flowing watercourses.
These areas represent a conduit/passageway for wildlife and protect the quality of the water.
Do look after your septic tank, sewerage treatment facility, slurry, silage liquor, and farmyard runoff.
Regular inspection and upkeep is vital, because these are extremely powerful hazards, and one failure can undo a generation of natural improvement.
Do get some advice if you are going to do anything that may affect a stream.
Inland Fisheries Ireland is a good and helpful place to start, or we can help you find the advice you need. Contact us here.
DON'T's
Things we shouldn't do:
Don’t allow fine sediment (silt/mud/clay/daub/earth) into the river, or into drains/streams that flow into the river.
This is one of the biggest threats to the Black River. Too much fine sediment makes it impossible for fish to spawn, and decreases the surface area of sediment for insects to live upon. Too much sediment also causes blockages downstream, causing drainage problems for farmers and utilities, necessitating more drainage, which causes more sediment downstream, etc.
Solution: if possible don’t cause bare earth adjacent to streams or inflow to streams; create silt traps in any inflow that may contain fine sediment (eg. new drains, run-off from bare ground, building sites, forestry etc).
Don’t allow animals into streams.
This can lead to pollution and sediment being dislodged. It can also cause steep banksides to collapse.
Solution: Where possible, fence off the stream bank and where possible provide watertroughs for animals.
Don’t allow either too much or too little shade from trees.
60-70% shade from direct sun is probably ideal. Too much sunlight and the water gets too warm on hot days causing stress at all levels, particularly to fish. Too little light and the base of the food pyramid can be completely absent.
Solution: Remove 3 out of 5 bankside saplings if the stream is completely closed in. If bankside is bare, plant waterside trees like alder, ash or willow in proportion needed, or native trees like oak, hazel or holly.
Don’t allow stormwater or rainwater run-off to mix with dirty water or your sewerage system.
This can cause overloading of sewerage treatment systems with subsequent run off of contaminated water into our streams and rivers.
Solution: Clean rain/storm water should be directed to streams and rivers, while dirty water should be directed to treatment systems.