A

Seminar Report
On
“River Restoration.”
Submitted to

Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune.

for the partial fulfilment of Course Work
Bachelor of Engineering
In
Civil Engineering

By
Mr. Shreyas Vilas Naiknaware.

Under the Guidance of

Dr. Suresh Parekar

Department of Civil Engineering,

All India Shree Shivaji Memorial Society’s College of
Engineering,
Pune-411 001, Maharashtra (INDIA).
2022-23

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 Department of Civil Engineering

CERTIFICATE
This is certify that,

Mr. Sh
Has satisfactorily completed the Course Seminar entitled,

“PLASTIC BRICKS: A STUDY OF INNOVATIVE

MATERIAL.”
This work is being submitted in the partial fulfillment of prescribed syllabus of
Undergraduate Course work in Civil Engineering, Savitribai Phule Pune University,
Pune
For academic year 2022-23.

Dr. S. R. Parekar Dr. P. B. Nangare

Seminar Guide Head of Department

Dr. S. R. Parekar Dr. D. S. Bormane

Seminar Co-Ordinator Principal

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 Acknowledgements

We are highly indebted to Dr. Suresh Parekar. for his guidance and constant supervision
as well as for providing necessary information regarding the topic & also for their support
in completing the report.
The efforts put into this colloquy are joint and extended to every staff member of my
department especially our Head of Department Dr. P. B. Nangare and honorable principal
Dr. D.S. Bormane for giving me this opportunity. We would like to express our gratitude
towards our parents & kinships for their kind cooperation and encouragement.
My thanks and appreciation also go to my colleagues in developing the plot and people who
have willingly helped me out with their abilities, especially all the teaching faculty of the
Civil Department.

Shreyas Vilas Naiknaware

20CV108

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 Abstract

The river in a mountainous city is usually confronted with problems of short flood response
time, water shortage in the dry season, artificialization of river channel, and shortage of
hydrophilic spaces. Besides traditional requirements of flood control and drainage, the urban
river also has functions of providing habitat, landscape, and recreation. We developed an
integrated plan for river restoration in a mountainous city, based on the concept of safe, near
natural, and convenient to enjoy water. We carried out case study of the Jiangshui River in
Longkou City, Shandong Province, considering integrated aspects of flood control, water
resources allocation, environmental protection, ecological restoration, and river landscape.
Flood security was assessed by applying one-dimensional hydraulic model. Base flow was
estimated, and it was maintained in the dry season by water saving in upstream irrigation areas
and reuse of treated water. Water quality could be improved by increasing the collecting
capacity of waste water. The low flow channel was meandering in the channel with water falls
to increase habitat diversity and accessibility to water. The flood land was vegetated and
constructed for citizens to enjoy water. The restoration project in the Jiangshui River was
executed from 2013 to 2014. This study can help accumulate experiences of urban river
restoration especially for the river in mountainous cities.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents Page No
Title Page i
Certificate ii
Acknowledgement iii
Abstract iv
List of Figures vi
List of Tables vii
Chapter 1 Introduction 6-7

1.1 General 6
1.2 Scope of the Project 7
1.3 Aim 7
1.4 Objectives 7
Chapter 2 Literature Review 8-9
2.1 General 8
2.2 Review 9
Chapter 3 Concept/Theory 10-12

3.1 River Restoration 10

3.2 Importance of River Restoration. 11

3.3 Factors affecting Rivers 11

CHAPTER 4 Methodology 12-19

CHAPTER 5 Conclusion 20
CHAPTER 6 References 21

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 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Genral:
Following a long history of human pressures on riverine ecosystems, the European Water
Framework Directive (WFD, Directive 2000/60/EC) came into force in 2000 and initiated a
new period of river management in Europe. The directive aims at improving the ecological and
chemical status of rivers in order to achieve the ‘good status’ of all surface waters until the year
2027. In Europe, degraded hydromorphology has been highlighted as a central impact to the
ecological status of the rivers (EEA 2012). For instance, in countries such as Germany, the
hydromorphology of almost all river sections is affected to an extent that they fail to meet the
WFD goals (EEA, 2012). In response, river hydromorphology is nowadays being restored at
an increasing rate. The assessment of restoration success or failure has mainly focused on
responses of aquatic organisms, such as fish (e.g., Roni et al. 2008, Haase et al. 2013, Schmutz
et al. 2016), benthic invertebrates (e.g., Jähnig et al. 2010, Friberg et al. 2014, Verdonschot et
al. 2016), and macrophytes (e.g., Lorenz et al. 2012, Ecke et al. 2016). However, restoration of
river hydromorphology has the potential to affect not only structural ecosystem features,
including species composition and diversity, but also, and sometimes in a more pronounced
way, functional aspects, such as key ecosystem processes and trophic transfers of energy and
nutrients. Functional aspects can be influenced by restoration, while structural ecosystem
features remain unaffected, and vice versa. Contrasting responses of functional aspects and
community structural parameters have been reported in the context of impact assessments (e.g.,
Friberg et al. 2009, McKie & Malmqvist 2009, Niyogi et al. 2013). Thus, incorporating
functional aspects into monitoring programs may enable a more holistic assessment of river
health and a better mechanistic understanding of restoration effects. Although many studies
have advocated that classical, community-based assessment needs to be complemented with
functional approaches to evaluate river health (e.g., Young et al. 2008, 2009, Palmer & Febria
2012, Woodward et al. 2012), functional metrics are still rarely used in assessments of river
restoration (Palmer et al. 2014). Consequently, the outcomes of river restoration for key
ecosystem processes (e.g., river metabolism) and trophic relationships (e.g., trophic structure
of benthic invertebrate communities and trophic connectivity between river and land) remain
poorly understood.

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1.2 Scope of the Topic.
According to the previous chapter, hydromorphological restoration has the potential to
influence functional aspects of riverine ecosystems, including river metabolism and trophic
relationships. However, this has rarely been studied and the effects of river restoration on the
trophic structure of benthic invertebrate communities, the trophic connectivity between river
and land, and river ecosystem metabolism remain poorly understood. Against this background,
the present thesis consists of three main chapters which are associated to the prior outlined
topics. These chapters represent individual papers which have been partially 1 Introduction 13
submitted and published in peer-reviewed journals

1.3 AIM of the Topic.

To Restore River from over extraction or from pollutions and etc.

1.4 Objectives
1. To clean the rivers in logical and economical way.

2. To restore or rebuild the rivers that are contaminated or overly extracted.

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 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

Literature 1: HIC 2016 Integrated river restoration in a mountainous city and case
study “Fengran Xua *, Baiyin Baoligaoa , Xiuying Wanga , Qiuling Yaoa”.

The urban river in a mountainous watershed in China is usually featured by short response time
to flood, prominent variation of flow discharge in the dry and wet seasons, insufficient basic
data and artificial river channel. This paper proposed an integrated river restoration mode in
terms of its safety, resources, environment, and landscape, with the Jiangshui River, Longkou
city, Shandong Province as an example. The Jiangshui River was restored to be more natural.
On the basis of flood discharge safety, the basic flow in the low flow river channel was supplied
by upstream water conservation, reuse of waste water. With a compound section, the low flow
was meandering in the river channel with hydraulic drops. The flood land was vegetated to be
a river park. Riverine walking system and places for entertainment and physical training were
built. The project supplied enjoyable aquatic space to residents and improved the quality of
living environment. It could be referenced by similar urban river restoration projects.

Literature 2 : River Restoration Motives and Objectives by Joseph M. Wheaton ©2015

Nine common types of motives for river restoration are briefly reviewed. Motives represent
more generalized aims than formalized and specific restoration objectives. Considerable
overlap exists between types of restoration motives. This is partly because river restoration
projects frequently attempt to address multiple objectives simultaneously. As an example, the
Skjern River Restoration Project in Denmark was intended to concurrently a) restore
meandering and natural dynamics; b) improve conditions for flora and fauna; c) ensure high
water quality in the river system and the Fjord; and d) improve the basis for outdoor leisure
(Riber, 2000). Hence the ‘types’ of restoration motives outlined below provide some common
and convenient headings, but should not be used as a strict classification for project types.
These motives include ecosystem restoration, habitat restoration, flood control, floodplain
reconnection, bank protection, sediment management, water quality, aesthetics and recreation.
Comparison of these overlapping motives suggests that they may be arranged hierarchically.
For example, floodplain reconnection is a type of flood control and habitat restoration and
water quality restoration are types of ecosystem restoration. However, because water quality

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restoration could also be viewed as sediment management and/or aesthetic restoration, a
hierarchal organization becomes complex and less meaningful. It is precisely these reasons that
broad generalizations about river restoration are difficult to make.

Literature 3; River and Stream Restoration

Walter K. Dodds, Matt R. Whiles, in Freshwater Ecology (Third Edition), 2020

River restoration has become important as people have come to realize that alteration of
hydrology, water chemistry, and biology of rivers has unintended consequences in urban
(Bernhardt and Palmer, 2007) and other areas (Bernhardt et al., 2005a, b). Such efforts require
restoration of the natural hydrology and understanding of how the dynamic equilibrium of
geomorphology can be restored to lead to long-term stability of the system. One form of river
restoration that has become more common, is removing dams to bring the stream back to
natural conditions (Highlight 6.2). Restoration targets need to consider geomorphology, life
history of species that managers are interested in (Jansson et al., 2007), and desired ecosystem
functions (Groffman et al., 2005). The most complete restoration will also consider the natural
heterogeneity, landscape connectivity, and linkages across ecological scales (Peipoch et al.,
2015). This is required to allow rivers to provide ecosystem services such as flood protection
(Nilsson et al., 2018). New high frequency sensing techniques allow managers to assess
restoration conditions of flow and water chemistry with much greater ability to detect
differences among restored and unrestored systems (Rode et al., 2016). While managers
frequently attempt to restore morphology, it is less likely that flow dynamics are restored
(Kondolf et al., 2006). Still, restoration of their morphology is essential to recovering
ecosystem services associated with flowing waters. This requires classification of existing
natural and altered morphology.

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 CHAPTER 3
Concepts and theory

River Restoration

◦ River restoration is another form of indirect and direct river engineering, undertaken to
improve hydrologic, geomorphic, and/or ecological processes within a river system.

◦ River restoration is the re-establishment of natural physical processes (e.g. variation of

flow and sediment movement), features (e.g. sediment sizes and river shape) and
physical habitats of a river system (including submerged, bank and floodplain areas).

Importance of River Restoration.

◦ The fact that most towns and cities developed near rivers illustrates their importance to
humans.
Naturally functioning rivers and floodplains provide ample benefits to society including
flood regulation, freshwater supply, tourism/recreation, water purification, carbon
storage and improved human health.

◦ Many of these benefits, along with biodiversity and habitat, are compromised if rivers
are modified.

◦ The reward of river restoration is naturally functioning rivers that support improved
biodiversity while bringing benefits for a society that is re-engaged with rivers.

Factors affecting Rivers

◦ Pollution:-

◦ Industrial effluent :- Any plant or facility where industrial activity takes place is likely
to provide a significant amount of waste, much of it in the form of liquid effluent. While
this waste is required to be treated by national and international law, it’s a sad fact that
the majority of it is released back into the environment without any processing
whatsoever.

◦ Agricultural run-off:- Fertilisers, pesticides and other agricultural products contain

chemicals like ammonia, nitrogen and phosphate to help promote growth and boost

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 crop yields. However, these chemicals can become washed into nearby bodies of water
in times of heavy rainfall, resulting in an imbalance of nutrients

◦ Dumping:- Unfortunately, not everyone is as conscientious about their environmental

footprint as others. Some people absent-mindedly (or, worse still, deliberately) toss out
their old rubbish without giving thought to its proper disposal. These items of waste
often end up in rivers and waterways, where they can accumulate and endanger the
survival of the aquatic species which live there.

◦ Sewage systems:- The Proper collection, treatment, disposal and monitoring of human
waste is absolutely vital to the functioning of a modern society. While many parts of
the developed world already enjoy the benefits of this system, there are huge swathes
of the population in third world countries which do not experience the same advantages.

◦ Over extraction:- The over-extraction of water can lead to dry rivers or declining
groundwater levels. Depending on the environmental legislation in the country, controls
may be placed on extraction to limit the amount of water that can be removed.

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 CHAPTER 4
METHODOLOGY
◦ Deciding the appropriate river restoration technique to use is dependent on river type,
modification extent and adjacent restrictions (e.g. infrastructure).

◦ Methodology River Restoration

1. Managing catchments

2. Restoring a more natural river course

3. Floodplain reconnection and wetland creation

4. In-stream enhancement

5. Removing or passing barriers

4.2 Managing Catchments

◦ Ideally, to deliver multiple benefits to society and wildlife river restoration should be
considered at catchment scale and prioritised as part of wider catchment plans.

◦ The Catchment-Based Approach is a community-led approach that engages individuals

and organisations from across society to improve freshwater environments. Catchment
management groups are the best place to identify issues and agree restoration priorities.

◦ This approach will produce the most beneficial results as the river system can be viewed
as a whole – focusing on a specific reach, without a wider catchment understanding,
can lead to detrimental effects elsewhere.

Fig1

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4.3 Restoring a more natural river course

◦ River straightening, diverting and over-deepening has been common practice in the past,
to create space for land development, enhance river navigation, improve land drainage and
reduce flooding.

◦ Straightened channels generally lack flow and habitat diversity as their profile has been
extensively modified and their features have been removed. Straightening can increase the
risk of flooding downstream as water moves faster through the modified section and
increases discharge downstream.

◦ Remaindering reinstates a more natural course and riverprofile with the aim of improving
habitat diversity and biodiversity. Flow can be returned to the former river course or an
entirely new course can be constructed if the old channel cannot be identified or is not
accessible (Foundation)

Fig 2

Fig 3

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4.4 Floodplain reconnection and wetland creation
◦ Floodplains are an important aspect of a river in environment, providing flood storage, fish
refuge and habitat diversity but often they have been disconnected and drained to protect
housing from flooding and create land for agriculture or development.
◦ This disconnection and reduction in storage may cause a greater flood risk downstream as
water moves through a catchment quicker. To restore connectivity, flood banks can be
breached or set back in carefully chosen locations, allowing water to spill out onto the
floodplain again.
◦ Benefits of reconnecting the floodplain include an increase in flood storage area, recreation
of wetland habitat reintroduction of wetland species and creating refuge for fish during
high flows. (Foundation)

Fig4.

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4.5 In-stream enhancement

◦ If floodplains have been reclaimed and developed, which is the case in most urban areas; it
is often not feasible to make space for large-scale river restoration.

◦ If the river has concrete banks or bed, which is again often the case in urban areas,
reinstating some natural processes within the river channel can be the next best option.
There are many novel in-stream enhancement techniques to consider but most involve
introducing some form of roughness in-channel, such as woody material, reworking gravels
or creating berms to create flow diversity, new habitats and areas of refuge.

◦ This form of restoration can provide a great opportunity to get local communities involved,
as it usually requires a hands-on approach (Foundation)

Fig5.

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4.6Removing or passing barriers

◦ Barriers such as weirs and dams are common features of the river in landscape. Barriers
can restrict the passage of wildlife along a river, and alter river habitats by creating deeper
and slower flows directly upstream.

◦ They also prevent transportation of sediment, which may lead to downstream erosion
problems and increased maintenance costs.

◦ Where a barrier is no longer used for its initial purpose, there is a case for complete removal
which would restore upstream and downstream connectivity. Where complete removal is
not possible, other measures can provide some benefits, such as lowering weirs or creating
bypass channels with fish passes (Foundation)

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4.7 How to restore rives in India
4 ways to restore rivers in india.

◦ Time
◦ Bioremediation
◦ Phytoremediation
◦ Algae and fishes

4.7.1 Time

◦ Rivers and nature has a tendency to heal them selfs with time.
◦ With time rivers can heal them self without being affected by people and industrial
chemicals.
◦ For example in lockdown when rivers and nature were unaffected by people aur by the
industries

4.7.2 Bioremediation

◦ The term of bioremediation has been made of two parts: bios means life and Refers to
living organisms and to remediate that means to solve problem.

◦ bio remediate means to use biological organisms to solve an environmental Problem

such as contaminated soil or groundwater. Bioremediation is the use of living
microorganisms to degrade environmental pollutants or to prevent pollution.

◦ In other words, it is a technology for

◦ removing pollutants from the environment thus Restoring the original natural
surroundings and preventing further pollution

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 Fig5.
◦ Bioremediation is a natural process and is therefore perceived by the Public as an
acceptable waste treatment process for contaminated material such as Soil. Microbes
able to degrade the contaminant increase in numbers when the Contaminant is present;
when the contaminant is degraded, the biodegradactive Population declines

◦ The residues for the treatment are usually harmless products and include carbon
dioxide, water, and cell biomass

4.7.3 Phytoremediation

◦ Phytoremediation is the direct use of living green plants for in situ, or in

place, removal, degradation, or containment of contaminants in soils,
sludges, sediments, surface water and groundwater.

◦ Phytoremediation is:

1. A low cost, solar energy driven cleanup technique.

2. Most useful at sites with shallow, low levels

3. of contamination.

4. Useful for treating a wide

5. variety of environmental contaminants.

6. Effective with, or in some cases, in

7. place of mechanical cleanup methods.

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4.7.4 Algae and fishes
◦ Algae benefit wastewater treatment by producing oxygen that allows aerobic bacteria to
breakdown organic contaminants in the water and taking up excess nitrogen and
phosphorus in the process. It is also a sustainable and affordable alternative to current
wastewater treatment practices.
◦ A wide variety of fish including wrasse, cichlids, catfish, pipefish, lumpsuckers, and
gobies display cleaning behaviors across the globe in fresh, brackish, and marine waters
but specifically concentrated in the tropics due to high parasite density

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 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS

What are the advantages and disadvantages of river restoration? River restoration
can be beneficial to both people and wildlife by increasing biodiversity,
providing a more stable environment for people to live and thrive in.

With that being said, there are disadva ntages of river restoration which includes
the possibility of flooding (landside and/or water) and the loss of wildlife if done
improperly. As well as some downsides such as possible water pollution.

It is important to carry out research and obtain expert advice before considering
river restoration, as the risks could outweigh the benefits in some regions
depending on how it is carried out.

Good management of any project is essential in order to minimize these negative

impacts which will ultimately lead to a healthier environment for all creatures,
including our own species, who depend on these rivers for clean water, food and
other resources we utilize each day.

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 CHAPTER 9
REFERENCES

1. HIC 2016 Integrated river restoration in a mountainous city and case study “Fengran Xua
*, Baiyin Baoligaoa , Xiuying Wanga , Qiuling Yaoa”.
2. River Restoration Motives and Objectives by Joseph M. Wheaton ©2015

3. River and Stream Restoration Walter K. Dodds, Matt R. Whiles, in Freshwater Ecology
(Third Edition), 2020
4. Fluvial Geomorphology and River Restoration in Europe M. Rinaldi, A. Gurnell,
in Treatise on Geomorphology, 2013
5. Case Study 3 – The Skjern River Restoration Project, Denmark William J. Mitsch,
in Encyclopedia of Biodiversity (Second Edition), 2013
6. Outlook for the Future F.D. Shields, A. Brookes, in Reference Module in Earth Systems
and Environmental Sciences, 2014

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