Broads Plan 2022 - 2027

Previous section: Theme B - Improving landscapes for biodiversity and agriculture

Theme C: Maintaining and enhancing the navigation

Introduction | Managing sediment and plants | Managing navigation safety and access | Long-term aim | Strategic objectives and key actions

Introduction

The Broads is an extensive and varied inland waterway system, offering 200km of boating on lock-free, meandering tidal rivers. The Broads executive area comprises approximately 3113ha of water space, including 63 permanently open water bodies covering 843 ha (maps, Appendix C ). Many of these water bodies are traditional ‘broads’ formed from medieval peat diggings, while others are of more recent or different origin, such as the former gravel quarry at Whitlingham Country Park. Some broads have public navigation rights, others more limited access (generally for environmental or land
ownership reasons), and some are landlocked and inaccessible to craft. The navigation reaches from the quiet headwaters of the rivers Bure, Ant and Waveney to the centre of Norwich and coastal resorts of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.

As the harbour and navigation authority, the Broads Authority is responsible for maintaining the navigation area. The Waterways Management Strategy (2022-27) provides the framework for the Authority’s practical operations (including the management of sediment, aquatic plants, and riverside trees and scrub) to benefit the navigation while also ensuring the protection of important water plant communities and refuges and food for wildlife. The maintenance of moorings, slipways and other waterside infrastructure is addressed in Theme E, as part of managing integrated access to and between land and water.

Managing sediment and plants

Dredging is carried out to provide reasonable depths for safe navigation, and to help restore degraded or shallowing water bodies. It also helps improve water quality by providing greater capacity for water storage, and by removing excess nutrients in the mud, reducing turbidity and creating depth for aquatic plants to flourish and stabilise the bed. Dredging the waterways and disposing of dredged material is the largest navigation maintenance cost to the Authority. River bank erosion is a key sediment source, caused by wind, tidal action, boat induced waves and feral geese. Land use and soil and vegetation type on riverbanks and uplands are also contributory factors, with headwaters contributing around 50% of sediment inputs.

A whole catchment approach to sediment management is helping to manage sediment coming into the Broads system. The Waterways Management Strategy guides the Authority’s operational priorities to maintain water depth specifications and to dispose of dredged material in cost effective and environmentally sustainable ways, taking account of its value for agriculture, habitat creation, land restoration and flood protection. A carbon budget produced for the Authority’s internal operations showed that over 50% of its carbon emissions are being generated by the vehicles, plant and vessels involved in waterways management, providing a focus to reduce emissions (see Theme A) while keeping up with waterways maintenance priorities.

Thriving aquatic plants are part of a healthy ecosystem, and certain species are protected under legislation₁₆. Recent years have seen increasing plant abundance in the rivers and broads, particularly in the upper reaches and smaller isolated broads; plants further downstream in the more tidally influenced areas are typically slower to respond to improving water quality. In a connected waterways network like the Broads, tackling the spread of some aquatic invasive non-native species is a huge and ongoing challenge. Practical work tends to focus on preventing the arrival of new species, and on controlling established species that significantly impact navigation or the conservation interest of key sites.

While the activities under this theme can enhance biodiversity, such as improving water quality by restoring depth and flow, it is acknowledged that some works have the potential to cause mainly short-term negative environmental or ecological effects; for example, dredging can increase turbidity and release contaminants, soil and nutrients₁₇ into the water. To mitigate such impacts, the Broads Authority applies Environmental Standard Operating Procedures to all its practical and engineering works, and this guidance is generic across all operators in the Broads.

Managing navigation safety and access

The Authority, emergency services and Coastguard work closely together to respond to incidents on the water. In 2021, the Authority increased its complement of Rangers to have a greater daily presence on the system, and produced new safety videos with local hire boat operators to give pre-visit advice to hirers. It also worked with inland waterways bodies to update the Hire Boat Code₁₈, which contains new safety aspects including stability requirements and more emphasis on the handover procedure given to hirers. Local policing partnerships including ‘Broads Beat’ work with the Authority and local businesses to promote a proactive approach to maintaining safety and reducing marine-related crime such as the theft of boats and outboard motors.

A number of initiatives help to avoid overcrowding and visitor pressures in certain areas. The Broads Integrated Access Strategy (see Theme E) focuses on distributing access points and visitor facilities across the Broads system, and a regular boat census monitors boat movements and distribution to help identify stress points at sensitive sites. County GI-RAMS₁₉ also aim to mitigate negative impacts from visitor pressure on SAC/SPA20 conservation sites. The potential to open up new areas of navigable water space are very limited, tempered by voluntary restrictions to certain areas of water space that provide key refuges for wildlife, by other environmental or land ownership issues, and by a lack of resources. However, there are quiet access opportunities for smaller, non- powered craft such as canoes and paddleboards above the heads of the navigation. Any planning proposal to extend navigation access will need to be consistent with nature conservation interests, flood risk management, and archaeological and geological status.

The Broads Authority works with Network Rail and other operators to make sure road and rail bridges are maintained to allow access to navigators. The work of the Broadland Futures Initiative (see Theme A) includes assessing the potential impacts of climate change and sea level rise on the tidal Broads waterways and the implications for navigators, such as the available air draft and timing of when vessels can pass under bridges, to make sure these and other interests are all considered in determining future management approaches.

Long-term aim

The historic and present importance of the Broads’ waterways for navigation, biodiversity and recreation is recognised and valued. The navigation and associated facilities and infrastructure are maintained and enhanced. Waterborne activity across the system is managed carefully to maximise safe enjoyment by all, minimise conflict between users and ease pressure on busy or vulnerable areas. Opportunities to improve and extend the navigable water space are pursued, consistent with nature conservation interests and water resource management. Sediment management provides necessary depths for boating, and dredged material is reused or disposed of in environmentally and economically sustainable ways. Sediment loss from agricultural land and bank erosion is minimal, with sustainable natural and constructed solutions used to protect vulnerable stretches of waterways. Bankside vegetation and water plants are managed in ways that keep waterways open to navigation, do not impact on the ecological or archaeological integrity of sites, and provide for appropriate recreation. Restriction on navigation due to bridges is minimised and mitigated wherever possible.

Theme C: Strategic objectives and key actions

C1 - Maintain navigation water depths to defined specifications, reduce sediment input and dispose of dredged material in sustainable and beneficial ways

C2 - Maintain existing navigation water space and develop appropriate opportunities to extend access for various types of craft

C3 - Manage water plants and riverside trees and scrub, and seek resources to increase operational targets

C4 - Maintain and improve safety and security standards and user behaviour on the waterways