Work to improve Brecon Weir for protected fish will start this month
Work will start next week to improve a fish passage at Brecon Weir for rare and protected fish in the River Usk.
The scheme, delivered by Natural Resources Wales’s (NRW) Four Rivers for LIFE Project, will see a new smolt (young salmon) pass installed in the weir.
Brecon Weir is currently recognised as a significant obstruction to young salmon migrating downstream on their journey to the sea. Once completed, the new smolt pass will help young salmon and other fish species to move freely down the river.
Recent fish tracking work has shown that Brecon Weir can significantly delay salmon smolts on their downstream migration in the spring, especially in low flows, making them more vulnerable to disease and predation. Accumulations of smolts have been observed around the weir during spring low flows (watch the video here).
A new smolt pass will be installed in the face of the weir which will improve the hydraulics and flow velocities for fish passing the weir. The design will include a u-shaped notch, a bell mouth pass entrance, and an approach ramp.
Local contractor Midwest Plant will carry out the work which aims to start next week. The work will take approximately three months to complete, river flows and weather permitting.
No footpath closures are planned, but there will be controlled machinery movement on site and along the promenade periodically for the duration of the works. A site compound will also be set up on land adjacent to the weir.
Leila Thornton from the Four Rivers for LIFE Project said: “This scheme has been years in the planning and we are delighted to be finally starting these works and thank everyone who’s been involved so far.”
“This work will significantly improve access for declining populations of fish including the endangered Atlantic salmon and will hopefully be a step towards the recovery of the species.”
The Four Rivers for LIFE Project is funded by the EU LIFE Programme with support from Welsh Government and Dwr Cymru Welsh Water.
To find out more about the scheme please visit the Citizen Space webpage here