Response to ecological restoration of Europe's longest channel affected by diversion: experiences for upcoming relicense process of hydropower

Sweden has almost 1000 river reaches where water is diverted to hydropower stations.

In the ongoingre-licensing of hydropower, the question arises as to the amount of water needed in the depleted reach to achieve good ecological status/potential. There is a general lack of scientific assessment of restoration and a lack of measures linked to hydropower.

Juktån's 60 km long depleted reach has been restored with a dynamic minimum flow and physical adaptation of the channel to improve ecological status. Before restoration, hydrogeological and biological data were mapped and can be used for effect monitoring. The purpose of the project is to evaluate environmental benefits of the new flow regime and physical restoration.

The restoration used innovative methods with great potential for implementation in other depleted reaches.

The project will assess the challenges that restoration of depleted reaches entails, which facilitates decisions on priorities of measures.