Active infrastructure construction works are underway to improve the water quality of the Tora River

The construction works of blue infrastructure elements on the banks of the Tora River in the West Vidzeme region, carried out by JSC “Latvijas valsts meži” (LVM), are nearing completion. Different types of sinkholes are part of the set of measures implemented by LVM in this area within the framework of the “LIFE GoodWater IP” project. Construction works are planned to be completed by the end of summer.

Three sedimentation ponds or settling pits are built on the existing melioration ditches, from which the water flows directly into Aģe, while one settling pit with a spillway dam is built on a ditch that flows into the Tora river, which is a tributary of Aģe.

Currently, three sedimentation ponds or sedimentation pits have been created in the Vidrižu gärsa massif in the project area. One of them is a standard solution with a recess in the bed, but two are atypical – one is in the shape of a crescent, and the other is intended to be filled with wood chips, which will serve as a pollution catcher. On the other hand, the fourth sedimentation pond with a spillway dam was built on a ditch that flows into the Tor.

Pictured: one of the constructed sedimentation ponds

In order for the demonstration area to be accessible and the various solutions created here to be viewed easily, a walking path is being built in the area. The trail will be less than 3 km long and it will lead along the once straightened Tora River, allowing anyone interested to see nearby the blue and also green infrastructure solutions implemented to improve water quality. A bridge for crossing the river will be built approximately in the middle of the trail, where a bench will also be installed on one side in front of the large stone discovered at the river’s edge during the trail planning process. The construction of the walking trail is planned to be completed at the end of summer, so that it will be available to interested people and nature walkers already in autumn.

In the picture: timber for the construction of the bridge

Very soon, the measures for the implementation of the so-called green infrastructure will be continued in the territory – the further diversification of the forest stand. In September of last year, in the marked forest areas near the river, fir trees were removed, the droppings of which have a negative effect on the water quality. Then the soil was prepared for planting deciduous trees, and the large and old oaks were shaded so that they would receive enough sunlight and could be habitats for rare and protected species of mosses, lichens and insects. Deciduous trees will be planted in the prepared soil very soon, and the fall in the river is desirable, as opposed to the fall of conifers.

Only a third of Latvian rivers and lakes are of good ecological quality. Therefore, in 2020, 19 organizations agreed on the “LIFEGoodWater IP” project to use the accumulated knowledge and the latest opportunities and to jointly search for and implement solutions for the improvement of Latvia’s surface fresh water, thereby also improving the health of the Baltic Sea.

The “LIFE GoodWater IP” project is implemented with the financial support of the European Union Environment and Climate Program LIFE and the State Regional Development Agency. The aim of the project is to improve the condition of water bodies at risk in Latvia by implementing the measures defined in the management plans of the Daugava, Gauja, Lielupa and Venta river basins.

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