River protection against the impact of adjacent land use (agricultural runoff such as nutrients and pesticides, fine sediments, cattle trampling, erosion, etc.) through the establishment of fenced riparian buffer stripes, free from any use, where a typical riparian vegetation will grow and provide shade for the river.

This layer contains the distances to hydrological monitoring stations for which authorisations must first be clarified with the Service Hydrologie (red) or for which the latter must at least be informed (orange and yellow).

Restoration of the ecological continuity for fish, macroinvertebrates, sediments and terrestrial animals by any transversal structure, through complete or partial removal of that structure, or by adding a fish pass if the previous options are not feasible.

Triggering of river dynamics through placement of flow deflectors such as dead wood or rocks, in order to initiate the formation of diversified structures within the riverbed and the riverbanks (hydrodynamic scour, sedimentation zones, lateral bars, riverbank failure, etc.), creating microhabitats for aquatic flora and fauna.

Preservation of a corridor for a dynamic river development, where the land is ever not – or extensively used, whose width is compliant with the river typology, which ensures a lateral connection to the alluvial plain, thus creating diversified aquatic and terrestrial habitats.

Riverbanks improvement by permanent removal of heavy stabilization techniques or by their replacement with plant engineering solutions, in order to recreate near-natural riverbanks with typical vegetation and diversified structures, thus creating microhabitats for aquatic flora and fauna.

Restoration of the connection between the river and its floodplain, oxbow lake reconnection, floodplain extensification regarding land use in order to promote water retention and obtain periodic local inundations downstream. Reactivate a part of the alluvial plain by lowering soil level, thus creating an artificial alluvial plain. Measure promoting aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity of wetlands as well.

Riverbed diversification through natural substrate supply and/or through the incorporation of structural elements such as stones, rocks, stumps or trunks, in order to recreate a nature-like structure and composition of the bed load, with a low flow channel, a variability of depths and a diversity of flow rates, thus creating microhabitats for the aquatic flora and fauna.

Typical river restoration technique. Re-meandering and restoration of the riverbed in order to recreate a new meandering course compliant with the river typology, with a riverbed and riverbanks rich in structures.

The types of measures related to hydromorphology (HY) which are defined in the catalogue of measures of the third river basin management plan, were assigned to the individual water bodies. The objective of this assignation is to identify for each water body those measures that will help to reduce the pressures and deficits present in the water body, thereby improving its status or maintaining its good status. The hydromorphological measures include the restoration of the ecological continuity, the improvement of the riverbed structure as well as the restoration of a near-natural hydrological regime.