Standing water conservation | Barnsley Biodiversity Plan

Biodiversity Action Plan Habitats Standing water Conservation

Biodiversity

Action

Plan

Standing Water Conservation

Factors causing loss or decline

Ponds may fall into disuse and neglect, and may be lost as a result of development, siltation, ‘tipping’ and infilling for ‘safety’ reasons.
Inappropriate drainage schemes or abstraction of water may lower water levels in standing water bodies; manmade structures such as canals, small dams, are prone to leaks and drying out.
Run off of fertilisers causes nutrient enrichment of the water which damages plant and animal communities, as does pesticide runoff.
Pollution from run-off from roads, landfill, from sewage overflow and from industry, can also seriously degrade standing water habitats.
The removal of waterside vegetation and reed swamp, which are effective barriers, can increase the risk of pollution and of siltation.
Introduction of fish and removal of predators, may lead to loss of natural fish populations and affect plant & invertebrate communities.
Introduced, non-native species can have a devastating effect on the natural balance of standing water and adjacent habitat ecosystems.
Recreational use of water bodies can cause disturbance to wildlife, damage to vegetation, and degradation of habitats through bank erosion, trampling and stirring up sediment.

Legal protection

In Barnsley there are some small ponds and standing water given legal protection by being within areas designated as SPA or SSSIs - eg Dark Peak moors.

More examples in the Dearne Valley Wetlands have recently been protected by SSSI status for the bird species supported.

Other ponds and lakes have some legal protection through being within Local Nature Reserves.

Other ponds, lakes, stretches of canal, and indeed reservoirs in Barnsley are in areas designated as Local Wildlife Sites and therefore there is a presumption against development or change of use when planning consent is required.

Specific wildlife species of ponds and standing water are given protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Licences are required from Natural England for Great Crested Newt, including pond dipping where great crested newts are present.

Good practice in conservation management

Ponds and standing water bodies are best sustained by:

Creating new ponds and water bodies with suitable nearby habitat
Maintaining natural processes and not intervening too much.
Minimising disturbance resulting from recreational use.
Maintaining semi-natural habitat features, including the profiles of natural banks, water quality, seasonal water levels, bank side cover.
Managing any grazing carefully; preventing farm nutrient runoff and other forms of pollution.
Controlling or removing invasive plants.
Clearing any plant material removed from ponds from the bank of the pond to prevent leaching into the water as the material rots.
If dredging, removing weed, clearing banks, tree or shrub pruning or bank profiling is necessary, measures taken should be proportionate and not affect all of the water body at any one time.