River Mease scheme aims to improve water quality

A scheme to help improve water quality and habitats for fish will see 220 tonnes of gravel used to restore a riverbed.

The work will be carried out this week by the Trent Rivers Trust as part of efforts to try and "climate-proof" the River Mease in Staffordshire.

The gravel will work as a natural filter to improve oxygen levels.

It will be introduced on a 500m-stretch (547yds) near Edingale, north of Tamworth, the trust said.

As well as improving water quality, Ruth Needham, from the organisation, said it would provide fish with spawning grounds and new habitats.

"Our work on this stretch in the Mease is about creating a legacy for wildlife and people," she added.

The work will cost about £60,000 and has been funded by the Environment Agency.

The Mease, like other rivers, has suffered from pollution and discharges of sewage which have caused high levels of phosphates, the trust said.

Those levels along with other nutrients in rivers can lead to algal blooms and, ultimately, the loss of many species that make rivers their home.

Ms Needham said the work should help species such as white-clawed crayfish and spined loach fish.

It would also "climate-proof" the waterway for the future, Vicki Liu, from the Environment Agency, said.

"Restoring the lost riverbed, reprofiling the riverbanks and improving the wet woodland section will help mitigate the impacts of climate change," she added.

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