The Guilsfield Demonstrator Project begun in Spring 2022. Led by the Severn Rivers Trust with partners from Powys County Council, Shropshire Council and the Environment Agency, the Guilsfield Brook Project is the first joint delivery between England and Wales within the River Severn Partnership. This partnership was achieved through the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme which aims to “preserve and enhance the Upper Severn Valley by creating thriving communities and resilient environments through sustainable and holistic water management”.
The Guilsfield Demonstrator project aims to test innovative solutions to long term resilience in the upper Severn catchment, and use natural flood management techniques (floodplain reconnection, wetland creation, woody debris dams and woodland planting) to ‘slow the flow’ of water.
This project will look to tackle flood risk within the Guilsfield catchment on two levels. Firstly, it will install a range of ‘traditional’ Natural Flood Management (NFM) interventions, to make an immediate contribution to addressing flood risk and build resilience into the soil landscape. Alongside this, the project will conduct research to shed light on the impact soil management and rainwater harvesting can have on flood management, and the economics of the farm business, through the Farm Hydrology Model.
The project aims to reduce flood risk through adding 6 olympic-size swimming pools of extra floodwater storage. This will be done through the creation of woodland, hedgerows, ponds, and leaky dams. There will also be an increase in the ecological resilience of the catchment through the creation of woodland and wetland habitat.
SRT officers will be working with landowners to deliver these farm-led measures across the catchment while considering the farms individual needs and aims, working with local contractors and suppliers.
To learn more contact Dewi Morris (dewi.morris@severnriverstrust.com) and Charlotte Davies (charlotte.davies@severnriverstrust.com)
