ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res.

13(02), 1402-1407

Journal Homepage: -www.journalijar.com

Article DOI:10.21474/IJAR01/20504
DOI URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/20504

RESEARCH ARTICLE
RIVER MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATION: A STRATEGIC APPROACH

Esha Yadav
Department of Zoology, Brahmanand P. G. College, Kanpur.
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Manuscript Info Abstract
……………………. ………………………………………………………………
Manuscript History Pollution of major rivers and their tributaries, is ultimately responsible
Received: 26 December 2024 for causing ecological imbalance. River restoration nowadays has
Final Accepted: 28 January 2025 become a need for an hour across the globe because rivers have been
Published: February 2025 degraded, leading to the disappearance of biodiversity. Since river
ecosystems form an integral part of human life, their proper
maintenance, conservation, and most importantly, river ecosystem
restoration is critical for human civilization’s well-being. Some things
to keep in mind while restoring the river ecosystem include stabilizing
and enhancing the river ecosystem’s functions and services. The river
ecosystem serves a lot in terms of ecological functioning, so it is
essential to restore the damaged and polluted rivers to their normal
status. In this chapter, we will discuss some important methods and
technologies of river restoration.

"© 2025 by the Author(s). Published by IJAR under CC BY 4.0. Unrestricted use allowed
with credit to the author."
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Introduction:-
India is one such country in the world that is bestowed with a good number of rivers and tributaries, which are
helpful not only in agriculture but also in the country's inland transport system. Rivers also form the basis for
domestic and industrial water supply, hydroelectricity generation, and inland fishing, and are responsible for the
deposition of fertile soil in the plains and the formation of deltas.With global warming, urbanization, and the
intensification of human activities, and great pressures on river ecosystems have caused ecosystem degradation, the
decline in habitats and biodiversity, and the loss of function(Li et al., 2022). River degradation has led to
an extensive loss of habitats and additional pressures on the aquatic and terrestrial species that use them. It also
affects the quality of our drinking water, resilience to climate change, and ability to store and hold back flood water.
Damage to river systems has been so extensive that an urgent need has emerged to conserve and restore
these systems.

As India heads towards an ever-deepening water crisis, we seek to create efficient solutions for managing water
resources. River restoration is the management of rivers to reinstate natural processes to restore biodiversity,
providing benefits to both people and wildlife. Ecological restoration technologies (ERTs) in rivers are effective
measures for improving habitat and biodiversity, which has the advantage of recovering ecosystems and biodiversity
and promoting the formation of healthy rivers. River and catchment restoration can deliver multiple benefits
including improvements to water quality, biodiversity, water supply security and reductions in flood risk and
pollution.To design successful as well as self-sustaining restoration actions in river ecosystems, achieving a
predictive understanding of hydro-ecological relationships is of prime importance (Palmer and Ruhi, 2019).

Corresponding Author:- Esha Yadav 1402

Address:- Department of Zoology, Brahmanand P. G. College, Kanpur.
ISSN: 2320-5407 Int. J. Adv. Res. 13(02), 1402-1407

Concept of River Restoration and Management

River restoration and management is the process of repairing and improving a river's ecosystem and water quality.
This is the process of recovering the degraded, damaged, and destroyed ecosystem of the river by restoring the
ecological structure, function, and biotic integrity. Technologies were applied to recover water quality, habitat,
biodiversity, and biotic integrity in the river, including various techniques, methods, theories, and management
strategies.

River restoration is used to describe a variety of modifications of river channels and adjacent riparian zones and
floodplains, and of the water, sediment, and solute inputs to rivers. These modifications share the goal of improving
hydrologic, geomorphic, and/or ecological processes within a degraded watershed and replacing lost, damaged, or
compromised elements of the natural system (Wohl et al., 2005).Restoration includes river management and
engineering that ranges from isolated structural modifications such as bank stabilization or riparian fencing, to
manipulations of ecosystem processes and biota across large river basins over decades (Warne et al., 2000; Bloesch
and Sieber, 2003).Bernhardt and Palmer (2011) make a significant distinction between restoration projects designed
primarily to reconnect rivers and projects designed primarily to reconfigure rivers. Reconnection efforts typically
involve the removal of infrastructure that had previously been installed to limit the interaction between rivers and
their floodplains. In contrast, reconfiguration efforts aim to change the physical structure of the stream or its riparian
zone through reshaping, replanting, or reconstruction.River restoration measures can be classified according to the
elements of the river ecosystem (Table-1)

Table1:- River Restoration Measures.

Element of River Ecosystem River Restoration measures
Catchment  Catchment management
Flow Regime  Flow management
 Stormwater management
 Dam removal
 Floodplain reconnection
Habitat (riparian)  Riparian management
 Land acquisition
Habitat (instream)  Instream habitat improvement
 Bank stabilization
 Channel reconfiguration
Water Quality  Water quality management
Biodiversity  Instream biodiversity management
Others  Aesthetic
 Recreation
 Education

Goals of River Restoration

A key distinction between river restoration and other management actions is the intent to reestablish ‘‘natural’’ rates
of certain ecological and chemo-physical processes and/or to replace damaged or missing biotic elements. That is,
restoration is often fundamentally about enhancing ecological integrity (Angermeier, 1997; Baron et al., 2002). The
ecological restoration of near-natural rivers is not only to solve the problems of the river itself but also to achieve the
harmonious coexistence between man and nature in the whole river basin, surrounding areas and even beyond
(Peilin et al., 2019).

The most commonly stated goals for river restoration are as follows:
(1) To enhance water quality
(2) To manage riparian zones
(3) To improve in-stream habitat
(4) To develop fish passage
(5) To stabilize river banks

River ecological restoration technology refers to the selection of various methods to repair the damaged aquatic
ecosystem's biological populations and ecological structure, strengthen the main functions of the aquatic ecosystem,

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rebuild a healthy ecological water body, and make the ecosystem achieve a virtuous circle of self-sustainment and
self-coordination based on the principle of ecosystem (Bernhardt, 2005).

Technologies for Ecological River Restoration

The technical measures of ecological river restoration mainly include river water quantity control technology, river
pollution control technology, river habitat restoration technology and biodiversity restoration technology (Wu et al.
2001, Lu et al., 2014; Zheng et al., 2016; Liu et al., 2019; Xu et al., 2019)

Restoration Technology for River Water Quantity Control

Control of Sluice Dam Flow
This technology is mainly aimed at the lack of ecological base flow due to the excessive sluice dam, which can
increase the ecological base flow in the river channel through the regulation of the excess water quantity and time of
the sluice dam, thus improving the ecological damage problem caused by the control of the sluice dam. It is mainly
used in rivers which lack ecological base flow due to excessive sluice dams.

River Water Supply

This technology is mainly used to supplement the water body that lacks ecological basic flow by water transfer in or
out of the basin. This technology can not only replenish water in river channels but also replace the river water in the
dead area by scouring and diluting the polluted water area, to change the river from an anaerobic state to an aerobic
state. It can also reduce the pollution load of the water body in a short period, improve the living environment of
aquatic animals and aquatic plants, promote the self-purification ability of the river and improve the quality of the
water environment. It is suitable for water-deficient rivers or as a supplementary measure to improve river water
quality.

Diversion Ecological Restoration

It is mainly used to break the confluence effect of the base flow. In the dry season with a small amount of water, the
river can be intercepted by establishing an ecological plug system to form a braided flow and increase the contact
surface between the river and the river vegetation. It is mainly applicable to the restoration of rivers with a lack of
ecological flow and often broken flow.

Restoration Technology for River Water Quality Remediation

Chemical Purification Technology
The technology includes a chemical treatment of polluted water to remove pollutants in the water. The chemical
purification method is quick in effect, high in repair efficiency, and easy to operate. However, since the chemical
agent is added, the treatment cost is relatively large, and it is easy to cause secondary pollution. It applies to restore
water bodies that require emergency treatment, generally only as an emergency measure.

Sediment Dredging Technology

This technology refers to removing pollutants in contaminated sediment by physical methods (mechanical dredging
or hydraulic washing).This is the most widely used treatment technology to reduce the release of sediment pollutants
upward overlying water bodies and alleviate endogenous pollution. The technology has a quick effect on pollution
treatment, but it is difficult to control the dredging depth accurately due to a large amount of engineering, high
investment, and the risk of causing sediment re-suspension pollution of water. It is mainly suitable for the restoration
of some seriously polluted river sections with sediment.

Microbial Remediation Technology

This technology uses microbial agents to change the redox state of pollutants and then reduce or eliminate the
concentration of pollutants. Compared with other remediation techniques, microbial remediation has many
advantages, such as fast propagation, variety, short growth period, good purification effect, easy management and
low cost. It is suitable for the quick repair of seriously polluted rivers.

Channel Oxygen Enhancement Technology

The technology can also be called artificial oxygenation technology, mainly refers to the improvement of the river
base, the setting of stone cage dam, the construction of river habitat islands and the construction of deep pool-flash,
to increase the hydraulic cycle, accelerate the rate of redox reaction between dissolved oxygen and pollutants, and

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increase the activity of aerobic microorganisms to achieve the purpose of degrading organic pollutants. It is mainly
suitable for the remediation of polluted water with static or slow flow in front of a dam.

Ecological Floating Island

The technology is a floating island with aquatic or terrestrial plants and habitats for wildlife. Using floating islands
as carriers, plants are planted on the water surface to absorb pollutants and reduce the content of chemical oxygen
demand, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and heavy metals. At the same time, the plant roots on the floating island
have a huge surface area, which provides a good solid carrier for microbial growth in water. The technology has a
small amount of engineering and can realize the sustainable utilization of resources. It is suitable for small rivers
with no shipping requirements. It is generally selected in the wider part of the river, or the artificially excavated
estuary, set as a floating island, and also can be designed as a small floating island, sporadically multi-point
distribution.

Artificial Wetland Technology

This technique mainly uses the triple synergy of physical, chemical, and biological methods in natural ecosystems to
remove pollutants from water bodies. The artificial wetland is built around the river or on the floodplain. Sewage is
introduced into the constructed wetland through terrain or a water pump, and the sewage is treated back into the
river. In the case of a rainstorm, storm runoff can be introduced into the constructed wetland for treatment, to reduce
non-point source pollution. It is suitable for the heterotopic treatment of river water quality in vast rural areas with
abundant land, low levels of economic development, shortage of energy and relative lack of technical force.

Stabilization Pond Technology

The technology is a basin system with reservoirs as the point and ditches as the line, using natural low-lying land to
dam or manually excavate reservoirs to reduce non-point source pollution.

Restoration Technologies for River Habitat Improvement

Habitat Restoration Technology
The technology is mainly used to restore the living places of fish and benthic animals, such as spawning grounds,
feeding grounds, resting grounds and channels. Sites simulating aquatic animal preferences are often constructed by
constructing fishways, deep trap-shoals, matrix restoration, riparian mulch, and setting up mounds and groins. It is
suitable for water restoration with a single habitat type.

Restoration Technology of Flood Land and Riparian Zone

This technique mainly considers that the tidal flat and riparian zone will be submerged periodically, and it is often
an important place for the predatory fish in the tidal flat to take the bait and lay eggs in the fertile period, so the
vegetation in the tidal flat and riparian zone can be restored effectively to the habitat of aquatic organisms. It is
suitable for water restoration with single vegetation type and some non-point source pollution.

Ecological Island
This technology mainly simulates the river-heart continent of the natural river channel, enriches the habitat diversity
of the river channel, creates a variety of flow patterns, provides a diversified habitat for fish and enriches the habitat
diversity of fish. It is suitable for water restoration with a single habitat type and single velocity type.

Ecological Bank Protection

This technology mainly uses block stone, sand-free concrete tanks, and aquatic plants to carry on the bank protection
technology synthetically. Planting aquatic plants at constant water level with blocks of stone at the foot of the slope
can take good account of erosion prevention and plant growth. It is also possible to use a sand-free concrete member
retaining trough at the foot of the slope to plant aquatic plants in the trough and fill pebbles to construct diverse
biological habitats. It is suitable for water restoration in riparian zones with single habitat types, low biodiversity,
and some non-point source pollution.

Restoration Technologies for River Biodiversity Restoration Technology

Vegetation Restoration Technology for River Banks
This technology practices ecological principles to create a variation of habitat types and different forms of
ecosystems through the restoration of plant communities composed of grass, forest and other wetland plants in river
plains. It is suitable for various types of river ecosystem restoration.

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Construction of Aquatic Biological Food Chain

The technology refers to the establishment of ecological floating islands or biological fences to create a good habitat
for aquatic organisms and microorganisms, provide a place of life, and restore the food chain. It is suitable for water
restoration with low biodiversity and some degraded habitats.

Fish Restoration Technology

The technology mainly includes the addition of fish facilities, artificial fishing firewood sets, fish stockings, and
other categories. The establishment of artificial reefs increases the habitat of fish and benthic organisms and
increases the fishing bait and living space of fish and the stocking of fish, not only completing the food chain, but
also playing a role in controlling algae, water bloom, and purifying water quality. It is suitable for restoring water
bodies with low fish diversity, incomplete biodiversity and a certain degree of destruction.

Trends of River Restoration Technique

River ecological restoration is a major historical issue, and there is still a long way to go to protect and restore water
ecology. The research and practice of river ecological restoration should follow the principle of adaptation to local
conditions, the principle of multi-disciplinary research, the principle of combination of government guidance and
market introduction, and the combination of ecological restoration and pollution control (Bennett et al. 2013).
1. Improve overall ecosystem integrity and biodiversity, rather than focusing on the status of single species, by using
process-based techniques such as floodplain reconnection.
2. Engage with the interests and motivations of different stakeholder groups as early as possible. Discuss objectives,
and identify opportunities and barriers, before planning activities.
3. Evaluate restoration projects using robust monitoring techniques over long timescales (>5 years) to determine
outcomes and inform future restoration.

Conclusion:-
The purpose of river restoration is to improve the structure and function of the river ecosystem by increasing the
biodiversity of the river. River ecological restoration projects need to improve the entire ecosystem rather than focus
solely on improving the water quality (Xu, 2018). Therefore, at present, physical, chemical and biological composite
technologies are mainly used to carry out ecological restoration of river ecosystems. Bioremediation can improve
the ecological environment of urban rivers to a certain extent, and it also has good economic and social benefits.
Therefore, constructed wetlands, biological floating islands and other bioremediation technologies were more in line
with the requirements of environmental protection, and are gradually being paid attention to, becoming the main
direction of the development of the river (Wohl et al. 2015).

River ecological restoration is a major historical issue, and there is still a long way to go to protect and restore water
ecology. To realize the goal of river ecological restoration, governments at all levels and the water administrative
departments should attach great importance to it. The broad participation and support of the whole society should be
needed, and the long-term and unremitting efforts of the vast number of water workers, environmental protection
workers, and ecological builders are also required to achieve the desired results.

Acknowledgement:-
This project received funding from the Uttar Pradesh State Higher Education Council, Lucknow under the
Research and Development Scheme for the Departments of State Universities/Institutes, Uttar Pradesh.

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