AECOM worked with East Renfrewshire Council to restore the Levern Water in Barrhead. The river had been impacted by past industrial activity, concrete walls, channel realignment and a redundant weir.
The Levern Water in Barrhead is an energetic river that flows through council-owned land, including a brownfield site and a public park. However, the river's previous modification by past industrial activity had impacted its status. Local people felt unsafe walking through the area as the brownfield site was used for antisocial behaviour and crime. The project came about from a study of three tributaries to the White Cart Water, where the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), East Renfrewshire Council (ERC), and Glasgow City Council (GCC) were seeking river restoration opportunities. The Levern Water in Barrhead was selected as the first project to be progressed due to its potential to achieve a wide range of benefits.
River restoration design
The Levern Water was a degraded watercourse with poor ecological potential. There were barriers to fish passage, high impact realignment and hard banking. The river was next to a brownfield site which was at flood risk. The watercourse is of close proximity to the town centre and is adjacent to existing green space owned by ERC. The project aimed to improve the Water Framework Directive (WFD) status, enhance greenspace in socially deprived areas, and improve biodiversity. Our design included the realignment of a reach of the river, reprofiling and landscaping of the brownfield site, and the removal of a redundant weir downstream. We worked with contaminated land regulators to agree the reuse of material on-site to develop a sustainable and financially viable project while protecting the public and the water environment.
Benefits for the environment and local community
The Levern Water project aimed to remove the length of hard banking and high impact realignment, improve fish passage, regenerate the brownfield site for community use, enhance and create habitats, daylight the culverted Kirkton Burn, and act as a catalyst for wider greenspace improvement. The restoration used a geomorphology-led design, with landscape architecture input to help communicate the vision of the scheme. The project was linked with SUSTRANS footpath improvements and footbridge replacement. The Green Action Trust supported the development of a new community green space on a second vacant site.
Successful project delivery
AECOM's restoration of the Levern Water in Barrhead achieved its aims of improving the river's ecological status and enhancing greenspace in a socially deprived area. The project faced several design challenges, such as contaminated land and maintaining a neutral impact on flood risk. Despite these challenges, AECOM was able to develop a design that improved fish passage, enhanced and created habitats, regenerated the brownfield site for community use, and served as a catalyst for wider greenspace improvement. Our partnership with SEPA and ERC, and the use of geomorphology-led design, played a crucial role in the project's success. The Levern Water in Barrhead is now on its way to its natural state, and the community can enjoy a safe and thriving environment.