PILOT PROJECT « WALPHY »: WALLOON EXPERIMENTATION OF RIVER RESTORATION

Poster (2013, March 13)

Pilot project « Walphy » : Walloon experimentation of river restoration

Conference (2012, April 20)

According to the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60), our rivers and water bodies are required to achieve the “good ecological status” by 2015. This requirement is related to the physico-chemical ... [more ▼]

According to the Water Framework Directive (WFD 2000/60), our rivers and water bodies are required to achieve the “good ecological status” by 2015. This requirement is related to the physico-chemical, biological water quality as well as the hydromorphological quality. In this context, a LIFE Environment project, co-founded by the European Union and the Service Publique de Wallonie, was launched in 2009 for a period of five years. It aims to realize the experimental and demonstrative river restoration works on three “at risk” water bodies, based on two axes: longitudinal continuity and transversal continuity. The first two selected water bodies (Bocq, eastern tributary of the Meuse) are suitable for the restoration works which concern the longitudinal continuity due to the presence of dams and other obstacles between 1 and 3 m high. These works consist in dam management (weir removal or fish ladders) taking into account hydromorphological (bedload transport) and biological (invertebrate or fish species free movement) impacts. The third water body (Eau Blanche, western tributary of the Meuse) presents straightened rivers with artificial banks which consequently lead to poor connections between the stream and its floodplain. This water body is therefore appropriated for the works based on the transversal continuity recovery. These works consist in enhancing straightened river channel and restoring meanders or banks. Until now, these works have been realized on more than 5 km. These works are being monitored on the basis of geomorphological and ecological analysis. The geomorphological monitoring is based on surveys conducted before and after the works. It concerns the bedload transport, the clogging of the gravel layer and the morphological changes of the river following the works. The ecological monitoring is based on two indicators: macroinvertebrates and fishes. Standardized and repeatable methods were developed to compare the situation before and after the works, especially through the analysis of microhabitats. In addition, we use another two complementary indexes of physical quality for this monitoring. Developed by the consulting office Teleos, these indexes have a fish orientation and have been implemented in many of our stations. [less ▲]

L'envasement du lac de Butgenbach (Ardenne, Belgique)

in Bulletin de la Société Géographique de Liège (2012), 59

In 2004, the Butgenbach lake reservoir (Warche river) has been emptied for the first time since 1932. The sediments deposited have been studied with a double objective : on the one hand to determine the ... [more ▼]

In 2004, the Butgenbach lake reservoir (Warche river) has been emptied for the first time since 1932. The sediments deposited have been studied with a double objective : on the one hand to determine the volume of sediment deposits, and on the other hand to estimate mean soil erosion rate in the catchment. Some five hundreds manual augerings were made using a thin auger (15 mm) throughout the wet and soft sediments (mud) in order to identify the lake deposits that have overlain the previous soft material (flood silts in the flood plain of the river Warche, silty soils on the slopes). Since the expected boundary between both types of materials could not be identified by the naked eye, a qualitative analysis of diatoms, magnetic susceptibility, grain-size distribution and calcination has been made for fifteen thicker cores (3.6 mm across) taken at representative sites. Mean annual area-specific sediment yield amounts to 28 – 33 t.km-².y-1 [less ▲]

Comparison of methods for quantifying active layer dynamics and bedload discharge in armoured gravel-bed rivers

in Earth Surface Processes & Landforms (2012), 37

Several methods were employed in the Ardennian rivers (Belgium) to determine the depth of the active layer mobilized during floods and to evaluate the bedload discharge associated with these events. The ... [more ▼]

Several methods were employed in the Ardennian rivers (Belgium) to determine the depth of the active layer mobilized during floods and to evaluate the bedload discharge associated with these events. The use of scour chains has shown that the depth of the active layer is systematically less than the b-axis of the average particle size (D50) of the elements which compose the surface layer of the riffles. This indicates that only a partial transport exists during low magnitude floods. The bedload discharge has been evaluated by combining data obtained using the scour chains technique and the distance covered by tracers. Quantities of sediment transported during frequent floods are relatively low (0 02 t km–2) due to the armour layer which protects the subsurface material. These low values are also related to the fact that the distance calculated for mobilized bedload only applies to tracers fitted with PIT (passive integrated transponder)-tags (diameter>20 mm), whereas part of the bedload discharge is composed of sand and fine gravel transported over greater distances than the pebbles. The break-up of the armour layer was observed only once, for a decennial discharge. During this event, the bedload discharge increased considerably (2 t km–2). The use of sediment traps, data from dredging and a Helley–Smith sampler confirm the low bedload transport in Ardennian rivers in comparison to the bedload transport in other geomorphological contexts. This difference is explained by the presence of an armoured layer but also by the imbricated structures of flat bed elements which increase the resistance to the flow. Finally, the use of the old iron industry wastes allowed to quantify the thickness of the bed reworked over the past centuries. In the Lembrée River, the river-bed contains slag elements up to a depth of about 50 cm, indicating that exceptional floods may rework the bed to a considerable depth. [less ▲]

Mapping the error due to image geometric correction ?

Conference (2011, October 14)

Facteurs de variabilité spatiale des caractéristiques des débits minimums annuels des rivières wallonnes (Belgique)

in Revue des Sciences de l'Eau = Journal of Water Science (2011), 24(3), 311-327

The goal of this study was to determine which environmental factors affect the spatial variability of annual minimum streamflow characteristics for 34 rivers in Wallonia (Belgium) using two complementary ... [more ▼]

The goal of this study was to determine which environmental factors affect the spatial variability of annual minimum streamflow characteristics for 34 rivers in Wallonia (Belgium) using two complementary methods: theascending hierarchical classification method and the linear correlation method. Both methods were applied after principal component analysis transformation was applied to the data. The ascending hierarchical classification method (Ward’s method) identified the effect of lithology and anthropogenic activity (groundwater pumping) on the fundamental characteristics of annual minimum flows. Rivers that drain a relatively permeable substrate are characterized by very high flow volumes with low interannual variability, high interannual variability of the period of occurrence, and small asymmetry coefficients. Rivers that drain low permeability or impermeable substrates show the opposite patterns. Rivers in which flow is subjected to artificial influences are characterized by greater variability of the magnitude and of the period of occurrence of annual minimum flows than natural rivers. Analysis of linear correlations between streamflow characteristics and environmental factors highlighted a correlation between the form of the distribution curves of annual minimum flows and several environmental factors (climate, land use, location and physiographic characteristics of the watersheds). [less ▲]

WALPHY : un projet pilote de réhabilitation de cours d’eau

Conference (2010, September 20)

Grâce au co-financement de l’Union européenne dans le cadre de la ligne budgétaire LIFE Environnement, un projet pilote sur la restauration physique des cours d’eau a démarré en janvier 2009 pour une ... [more ▼]

Grâce au co-financement de l’Union européenne dans le cadre de la ligne budgétaire LIFE Environnement, un projet pilote sur la restauration physique des cours d’eau a démarré en janvier 2009 pour une durée de 5 ans. Son nom : WALPHY pour « Wallonie – physique ». Le projet est coordonné par la Direction des Cours d’Eau Non Navigables DCENN (Service Public de Wallonie SPW - Belgique) dont le district de Namur assure la réalisation des travaux de restauration. Deux partenaires scientifiques assument l’évaluation et le suivi de ces travaux : le Laboratoire d’Hydrographie et de Géomorphologie Fluviatile de l’Université de Liège et l’Unité de Recherche en Biologie des Organismes des Facultés Universitaires de Namur. [less ▲]

Habitat Choice by Atlantic Salmon Parr in Relation to Turbulence at a Reach Scale

in North American Journal of Fisheries Management (2009), 29(6), 1819-1830

The variables commonly used to describe the physical habitat of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr are average velocity, water depth, and substrate. A variety of micro- and mesohabitat models have been ... [more ▼]

The variables commonly used to describe the physical habitat of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar parr are average velocity, water depth, and substrate. A variety of micro- and mesohabitat models have been developed using these variables to assess habitat quality. However, Atlantic salmon parr live in highly turbulent streams and rivers in which intense fluctuations of water velocity occur. Laboratory experiments have shown that turbulence affects the behavior and energetics of fish. Nevertheless, habitat use in relation to the strong temporal variability of velocity in natural environments has rarely been studied. In this study, Atlantic salmon parr habitat was examined in relation to turbulence in the Patapedia River, Quebec. Rather than taking the usual approach of surveying a large population at one point in time, we used an intensive radiotelemetry tracking survey that focused on the habitat use of a few individual fish over an extended period. We analyzed habitat use in relation to several dynamic hydraulic variables. Our results revealed that under naturally turbulent conditions, the parr displayed high individual variability in their habitat use. Such heterogeneous use of habitat suggests that individuals are not constrained to a single habitat type. Furthermore, no differences were observed in habitat use among the four daily periods (dawn, day, dusk, and night) for individual parr. [less ▲]

Amount and controls of the Quaternary denudation in the Ardennes massif (western Europe)

in Earth Surface Processes & Landforms (2009), 34

It is still debated whether the primary control on the middle Pleistocene denudation of the uplifted Ardennes massif (western Europe) is tectonic or climatic. Here, based on geomorphological observations ... [more ▼]

It is still debated whether the primary control on the middle Pleistocene denudation of the uplifted Ardennes massif (western Europe) is tectonic or climatic. Here, based on geomorphological observations, we calculate the amount of river incision and interfluve denudation in the Meuse basin upstream of Maastricht since 0·7 Ma and we show that the main response to tectonic forcing was incision. This allows us to provide first-order estimates of the tectonic and climatic contributions to the denudation of the Ardennes. From a dataset of 71 remnants of a terrace level dated ~0·7 Ma, we first derive a basin-scale functional relationship linking incision with distances to the regional base level (Lc) and to the source (Ls) in the Ourthe basin (pertaining to the Ardennian part of the Meuse basin). Expressed as I = I0*(1 – a*Lcb/Lsc), I0 being the incision measured at the basin outlet, this relationship calculates that river incision has removed 84 km3 of rock in the Meuse basin upstream of Maastricht since 0·7 Ma. In the same time, 292 km3 were eroded from the interfluves. A comparison of these volumes shows that the tectonically forced river incision accounts for ~22% of the total post-0·7 Ma denudation. Furthermore, the mean denudation rate corresponding to our geomorphological estimate of the overall denudation in the Meuse basin since 0·7 Ma amounts to 27 mm/ky, a figure significantly lower than the ~40 mm/ky mean rate derived from 10Be studies of terrace deposits of the Meuse (Schaller et al., 2004). This suggests that, taken as a basin average, the 10Be-derived rate is overestimated, probably due to an overrepresentation of the erosion products of the rapidly incising valleys in the alluvial deposits. [less ▲]

La typologie et les caractéristiques hydromorphologiques des cours d'eau wallons

in Bilan d'une décennie d'ingénierie écologique (2008)