60 days expert geomorphologist contractor support for the EPA’s River Restoration tool (RiverREST) - field validation, recommendations, and training

Tender description

The EPA has recently completed a project which has developed a decision support tool that assists end users in the identification of appropriate river restoration measures based on the hydrogeomorphic context of the river reach. The tool has been developed at the river reach scale in three pilot WFD catchments (Boyne, Liffey, Blackwater Munster) using remotely sensed data only and has not been field validated. In order to refine the tool further before extending the outputs nationally, field validation is required. Field validation will require a selection of river reaches across the three study catchments to be examined in detail and compared to the tool output. These comparisons will then form the basis of tool refinement before finalisation. In addition, the Catchments Unit has been liaising closely with LAWPRO over the past two years on assessing hydromorphological pressures and measures, and a clear need for training in hydromorphological field assessment has been identified.