Eddleston and Peebles, Scottish Borders, Scotland, United Kingdom
Project ended
Landscape level
The Eddleston Water project is a long-term, catchment-scale programme using natural flood management (NFM) to reduce downstream flood risk while improving river ecology. Since 2009 it has partnered with farmers to re-meander >2 km of channel, plant ~200,000 native trees, install 22 ponds and 101 large-wood structures, and set up intensive monitoring. Early results show improved ecological status, local peak-flow delays, and strong modelled benefits from combined measures.
The 70 km² rural catchment was historically straightened and constrained by transport infrastructure and intensified land use, increasing downstream flood risk and degrading habitats. SEPA estimated 582 properties are at risk under an once in 200 years event. In 2009 the river was classified at ‘Bad’ ecological status (Water Framework Directive criteria). Water quality is generally good and the river is part of a Special Area of Conservation for salmon, lampreys, otters, and aquatic plants. The project was created to test whether working with natural processes across the catchment can meaningfully reduce flood risk, restore habitats, and be compatible with viable farm businesses.
The project implements multiple NFM measures—re-meandering straightened reaches, installing leaky woody structures, creating ponds, and planting native woodland—distributed across the 70 km² catchment. These measures increase channel and floodplain roughness, create temporary storage, and enhance infiltration to slow, store, and filter floodwaters while restoring habitats. All works are underpinned by a comprehensive monitoring network to quantify hydrological and ecological responses.
Interventions were selected through an initial scoping study (2009/10) that identified a broad set of natural flood management (NFM) and habitat restoration options suitable for the Eddleston catchment. From 2011, a comprehensive monitoring network was installed to establish baseline conditions (surface hydrology, hydro-morphology, meteorology, ecology and groundwater). From 2012 onwards, measures were implemented and monitored using an empirical approach, including “Before-After, Control-Impact” study designs for key river restoration works.
Implementation on the ground was led by Tweed Forum, working as a trusted intermediary with local landowners and farmers. Staff walked the catchment to identify feasible locations and agree voluntary measures with no obligation for land use change. While some opportunities were not taken forward due to their importance to farm businesses, interventions were secured across 20 farms.
River re-meandering and channel restoration focused on reversing historical straightening that had increased flood risk and degraded habitats. Over 2 km (reported as 2.2 km) of straightened channel was re-meandered, adding around 300 m to the river length and generally widening restored sections. This was intended to slow flows and increase habitat quantity and diversity by reinstating more natural channel form and flow patterns. Monitoring of ecological response included habitat assessments and targeted work on salmonid habitat, with electro-fishing surveys undertaken before works and planned for repetition.
Water storage measures included creation of 22 ponds in the upper catchment. Pond water levels were measured to quantify storage performance. In addition, modelling examined the potential effect of a series of larger floodplain ponds, indicating how pond placement and sizing could influence local peak discharge and timing for smaller return-period events.
Flow attenuation measures using wood were implemented as 101 log structures (large wood flow restrictors/leaky dams), primarily in the upper catchment. Their effect was assessed empirically through observed changes in time-to-peak, and complemented by hydraulic modelling based on topographic surveys using HEC-RAS to test how the number of structures influenced flood storage and peak travel times across different flow magnitudes.
Woodland measures included extensive native tree planting across the project area (around 200,000 trees overall) and a specific 2-hectare native woodland planting in the Burnhead tributary catchment. At Burnhead, a small network of water level and flow monitoring points was established to provide baseline hydrological conditions against which future changes could be measured. Riparian management also included fencing to exclude livestock and tree planting at the Shiphorns re-meandering site, alongside monitoring of brown trout populations at both Burnhead and Shiphorns.
Key implementation challenges were primarily social and practical: measures depended on landowner willingness and had to be compatible with sustaining farming livelihoods. These were addressed through voluntary participation, site-by-site opportunity identification, and facilitation by Tweed Forum to support engagement and cooperation at landscape scale. Empirical monitoring was used to build locally relevant evidence of effectiveness, recognising that catchment-scale flood responses would take time to detect and that modelling would be needed to complement field measurements in the interim.
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