Improved water quality

Larkhill Gardens Lake improvement is a collaborative project between the City Council, the Environment Agency and the local community. It is part of the long-term project, Liverpool Park Lakes Project, whose aim is to tackle many problems faced by shallow park lakes. Larkhill Gardens Lake (4936m2) a circular shaped, steep, vertical hard-banked lake, situated in a small estates garden in the city. Like many lakes, Larkhill Gardens Lake experienced problems linked to structural decline, lack of water, poor water quality, poor habitat quality, loss of management of the user and lack of proactive management by the City Council. The improvement of the lake included changing its structure to create a deep-water fishing area, shallow water area and wetland.
The project was funded by a partnership between Liverpool City Council and the Environment Agency (Reference 1).

Approximately one-fifth of the rain that falls in Malmö's urban area is led to Risebergabäcken, which makes it by far Malmö's largest watercourse. None of the other watercourses receives more than a very small part of the municipality's stormwater. The flow in Risebergabäcken is in many places it is narrow and deep, which means that the water rises quickly when there is a lot of rain (ref. 7). Large precipitation and asphalt industrial environment in Skogholm's meadows (Skogholms ängar) have long been a problem of overload in Risebergabäcken, but the ecological stormwater system delays and cleans the water, as well as preventing erosion and floods (ref. 1).

The first stage of the investment: Building an urban park in the city area where there is a lack of green recreational spaces for the citizens. The park is to be built on the undeveloped ground. The initiative involves cleaning the area, planting greenery, purification and regulation of the watercourse Warszowiec and building stone stream edges, building the bike and running paths, 2 playgrounds for various age groups, open-air gym, and a multifunctional field for basketball, volleyball, tennis and table tennis (planned). The project is supplemented with the so-called small architecture including benches, rubbish bins, bicycle racks, tables and bowers [1,2]. The second stage: executing the planned multifunctional sports field and building a so-called physical activity square with a wooden platform, wooden pergola by the stream. A fence around the playground is built and new lighting and monitoring systems introduced. The second stage assumes management and maintenance of the green areas too [5,6].

The city of Malmö works for a sustainable urban environment, e.g. through planning the city's new construction, working on existing buildings and at the same time striving to reduce the environmental impact. Västra Hamnen (Western harbour) is a new and ultra-modern district in Malmö. It is located on a former shipyard area right beside the sea, only less than a kilometer north-west of the medieval old town of Malmö (ref. 10). In the Western Harbour where land was available after the shipyard’s closure, high sustainability has been sought from the beginning. In dialogue with builders and other actors, Malmö City has developed guidelines for energy use, green structure, waste solutions and a healthy indoor environment. (Ref. 1)

The greening of the Bega channel is a project which dates from 2008 and which aims at cleaning and revitalizing the channel on a distance of 44 km, in order to improve water quality, increase economic activities related with the river, and avoid future floods of the area. Since the channel has not been revitalized from 1945, the 2008 project is seen as an important step in improving not only the life quality of the Timisoara's inhabitants but also a major step in including environmental issues on the official agenda of the municipality. (1)

Ekostaden Augustenborg is the collective name for a program to aims to transform Augustenborg into a more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable neighborhood. Ekostaden Augustenborg is one of Sweden´s largest urban sustainability projects. Aims and implemented measures were based on the wishes of local stakeholders and residents: No more flooding, green roofs, a musical theme playground, an open stormwater system (ref. 1).

Each year, since 2003 between 22 March, World Water Day, and 22 April, World Earth Day, the traditional spring cleaning campaign For a More Beautiful Ljubljana (Za lepšo Ljubljano) is in progress in Ljubljana. The basic goal of the For a More Beautiful Ljubljana campaign is to give a thorough spring clean to functional areas across the City of Ljubljana, and those taking part include Departments within the City Administration, the City’s District Authorities, public companies united within Ljubljana Public Holdings, City of Ljubljana public institutes and various Ljubljana societies. (1 and 5)

The River Alt Restoration Project at Stonebridge started in 2013 with an initial goal to remove culverts in order to create re-naturalised watercourses and maintain watercourses easier. It also involved the removal of rubbish and other obstructions to reduce the risk of flooding in the wider catchment (Reference 2). The project then evolved with a bigger goal to divert River Alt into a new 900-meter long linear park named Alt Meadows. Relevant engineering works were employed in the area. In addition, accessible paths and meadow, wetland and woodland habitats were created. The park was also linked into surrounding areas (like housing, shops, schools, etc.). The project benefits include the expected increase in wildlife biodiversity and improved water quality and flood protection (Reference 1, 3).
The project was led The Cass Foundation, in partnership with the Community Forest Trust, with funding from DEFRA’s Catchment Restoration Fund (via Environmental Agency) and Liverpool City Council. The Foundation remains responsible for maintaining Alt Meadows on behalf of the city council (Reference 3).

The aim of Ljubljanica Connects funded by Life+ is to improve connectivity between Natura 2000 sites. Started in 2012, the project aims to remove barriers to fish migration, enhance and restore habitats, improve water management infrastructures, and put in place a water monitoring system. This will restore the river Ljubljanica's function as a corridor, improve water management and so provide better links between Natura 2000 sites. The fish species in question are Danube Roach, Danube Salmon and Striped Chub (2).

The largest rain gardens in Sweden (thus far) has been created in Göteborg (Kviberg park). Kviberg's multisport arena was completed in the summer of 2015 in the northeastern part of Göteborg. Around the facility, there are parking spaces with a capacity for 500 cars. In order to handle the rainwater flowing from the parking area, approximately five per cent of the total area has been used for rain gardens, which both clean and store the rainwater. (Ref. 1, 2)