The Surrey based marine civil engineering firm was looking to enhance its fleet of river tugs and has designed the new boats to satisfy the varying demands of Land & Waters projects and clients.

The design strategy was for a small highly manoeuvrable shallow drafted tug incorporating a catamaran hull. Due to the diversity of the Land & Water projects, the design includes the facility to easily add and remove attachments from the arm mounted on the bow of the vessel. The tug is 8.8 meter long with a 3 meter beam and a moulded depth of 1.35 meter. The hydraulic propulsion unit provides a steerable propeller that gives a 2 tonne bollard pull and the ability to transfer from full ahead to full astern in a fraction of the time of a conventional vessel.

To reduce manual handling and the risks of the operator working on deck, the front arm can be operated to grab onto bollards of barges. It is also fitted with a quick release coupler which allows any attachment seen on the front of a standard tractor to be fitted in moments. The tug also has its own bespoke attachments including a dredge pump for local dredging tasks, a weed cutting head and a debris-collecting basket.

Richard Maclean, Director of Land and Water Plant Hire summarised the new boat is the nautical equal of a Swiss Army knife. Richard goes on to explain “we work in such a variety of environments that our new tug needed to be adaptable and able to carry out a number of duties in addition to its core use as a highly manoeuvrable, shallow drafted pusher tug.”

Power for the tug comes from a Sabre Perkins M250C Diesel engine that exceeds the Tier 3 emission standards essential for Land & Water as they company often operated in environmentally sensitive environments. 

Download review in Maritime Journal MJ March 2012 Land and Water Clyde Tug Review

The Defra fund of  £28m fund, providing up to £10m each year, has been allocated for projects to be delivered in 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15. 

The fund will support work that aims to:

restore more natural features in and around waters;

reduce the impact of man-made structures on wildlife in waters; or

reduce the impact of small, spread-out (diffuse) sources of pollution that arise from rural and urban land use.

Funding is available to charitable organisations to carry out projects in England that will restore rivers, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, coastal habitats and their surrounding landscapes to more natural conditions, to tackle pollution, restore wildlife habitats and enable fish to migrate.

Land & Water’s Managing Director, James Maclean said after the announcement  “This is great news for communities and the environment.  As a responsible contractor working on England’s waterways we see far too often the results of neglect and hope that charities will take up this opportunity to return things back to nature.”

Closing date for bids is 29th February.  Funding will be awarded by April 30th following assessment by a national panel led by the Environment Agency and representatives from Defra and Natural England.

Follow the link for information on how to apply:  environment-agency.gov.uk

For more information call Land & Water on 0844 875 1260 or email us at enquiries@land-water.co.uk

The MMO site provides full details on the process and licensing. The highlights are below:

“Dredging (including aggregate dredging)

Dredging was not a licensable activity before the start of the marine licensing system on 6 April 2011. Accordingly, there is a transitional period of one year from the start date during which a dredging operation will not require a marine licence, provided the dredging operation:

would not have fallen within section 34 of the Coast Protection Act 1949

would not have required a licence under Part 2 of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1984

is not excluded from this exemption by an order made by the Secretary of State.

At the end of the transitional period, a marine licence will be required for any dredging. The carrying out of any form of dredging, whether or not involving the removal of material, requires a marine licence.

Dredging is a broad term and includes the use of any device to move any material from one part of the sea or sea bed to another part. This includes dredging for any purpose, for example, creating new channels or berths, maintaining existing channels or aggregate dredging for commercial supply. This also includes all types of dredging, for example, suction dredging, water injection dredging or sea bed levelling.”

The Land & Water Group with its in-depth understanding and experience of dredging activities is able to offer its clients help and advice to navigate the regulations and obtain the right license quickly and efficiently. 

If you are planning navigational, maintenance or any other form of dredging please contact Land & Water for more information on how Land & Water can assist with licensing, planning and dredging operations: Please contact  Jayne Hornsby on 0844 875 1260.

This existing sewer was defective having corroded to an extent that is has lost most of its original flexural strength and was in need of replacement so Severn Trent decided to seal the existing sewage pipe and construct a new pipe running just outside the bridge deck, significantly extending the asset life of the sewerage system and reducing the risk of pollution to the River Derwent.

Land & Water Services were engaged to carry out the works which required the new pipework being lifted into position using a 30 tm knuckle boom crane mounted on a floating pontoon due to a weight restriction of 3 tonnes being placed upon the bridge.  In addition Land & Water carried out all the detailing of the works and fabricated and installed all the supporting bracketary. The works were completed to the full satisfaction of the client, ahead of schedule and to budget.

The Hargreaves team who built the gates, supported by the Land & Water site team and of course the Ellis Crane Hire crew, had all four gates in place by mid afternoon. Then the really hard work began… installing the gate cills, fitting the cheek timbers and connecting the paddle gear. This work continues.

Silt re-sited

The dredged silt, previously contained in a drainage lagoon within the site compound, has been transported to the prepared tipping area below the lock. 

This material will continue to dry before being landscaped to form an amenity area.

Using the dredgings to enhance the bridge site gives the project the best possible outcome in terms of environmental benefit and off-setting the scheme’s carbon footprint.

Volunteer Engineers

Cotswold Canals Trust Volunteers arrived on site on Friday and commenced installation of the ground paddle jack posts and gearing. In spite of the the extremes of weather experienced in recent days the site teams, professional and volunteers alike, have carried on with the job in hand.

Teetering on the Edge

Loose coping stones on the towpath edge above the lock were in danger of falling into the canal. The stones have been removed and reseated onto on a mortar bed. This work continues.

Read more at the Cotsworld Canal Trust 

There are several aspects to this contract with Land & Water providing; 24 hour Emergency Standby for flood cover on specified water courses and structures, monthly inspection/observation visits on specified water courses and structures, trash screen clearance, minor tree works, hand dredging, flood bund and bank reinforcing and also silt sampling and testing.  The contract also involves the maintenance of a silt trap and flood relief pond which involves the annual clearance of approximately 100 cubic meters of deposited silt from the trap and overspill that has flowed into the lake. 

This work is completed using heavy machinery. A 22 ton Long Reach excavator along with a 9 ton dumper and finally several 8 wheeled haulage wagons for removal from site. The lighter vegetation works are carried out by a small works team using hand held equipment and takes approximately 4 weeks per year, the maintenance visits and subsequent work involves approximately 2 days per month over 12 months and the silt trap and pond works approximately 1 week to complete. 

Wherever possible cleared material is taken for recycling or composting reducing the need for disposal to landfill. 

The initial phase of the contract saw the scope centred around the construction of a natural fish pass, but encompassed the construction of a weir and the installation of two bridges. Habitat migration works were installed as in phase 1; fencing protection for the local water vole colony. Temporary enabling works saw the use of Land & Water’s own Bailey bridge with the introduction of a culvert system, water levels in the main river being controlled by an upstream bypass and cofferdam at the fish pass intake and wet areas.

Excavation work took place under EA consent, utilising in-house specialist plant equipment. The fish pass intake structure was formed with a reinforced concrete notch weir placed around driven steel piles, incorporating stop log grooves allowing for fish passage and flow control. The new 200 metre long channel, riffles, stone weirs, flow deflectors and shallow scrapes were all incorporated into the design and left to redistribute and redevelop naturally over time. Riffles and boulder dams were constructed using locally sourced stone, with the planting scheme using some 5,500 native species, and the new fixed crest weir allowed for greater water level control during strong flow periods.

A 12 metre span pedestrian bridge was installed adjacent to the weir, with a 25 ton agricultural access bridge placed over the back water on the lower meadow in order to allow the area to be accessed and grazed.

The project also include the restoration of four timber dolphins, which were repaired using FSC timber. 80% of the existing brackets were salvaged to be reused on the repair of the structure. Vegetation works were also carried out on Wharton Road, which transformed a muddy, unsightly bank into a pretty wetland habitat by installing hazel faggots, planted coir rolls and planted pallets to spruce up the bank.

The biggest challenged was the installation of 22 number 508 mm dia. mooring piles, 13 number 273 dia. marker piles and 6 number 406mm dia. mooring piles along Waterworks River. This work was carried out by Land & Water Plant’s bespoke crane and hiab pontoon. Our floating crane pontoon was also used to dismantle an existing wharf pontoon to allow its relocation elsewhere on the British Waterways network.

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This phase of the project was centred around the restoration of a Victorian bathing area, long since fallen into disrepair, along with construction of two habitat and balancing ponds and the accompanying drainage system.

Before the work could commence, wildlife protection – habitat fencing for a local water vole colony – needed to be established.

The original river wall was demolished and replaced with a sheet piled wall secured with ground anchors, with a continual capping beam of coloured concrete and open aggregate layered atop to replicate the original aesthetics, along with a concrete bag-work wall facing.

The surface area was then reinstated with a resin-bound aggregate and brick edge detail, to the original footprint and foundations of the bathing area and changing rooms.

The works were undertaken and managed under full CDM regulations.

The fish pass comprises a hard engineered structure at the upstream junction with the River Windrush. A notch weir with stop log grooves allows for fish passage and flow control. The new river channel meanders across the flood plain to join an existing back water channel, with the meanders being designed to mimic a natural channel but will be left for the river to shape its own route. Riffles, stone weirs, flow deflectors and shallow scrapes have all been incorporated into the design. These will similarly be left for the river to redistribute over time. Temporary access to the works was achieved by the installation of a bailey bridge and a culvert. The level of water in the main river was controlled by an upstream temporary river bypass system. A cofferdam was installed at the fish pass intake area.

The excavation work took place under an EA consent, using in-house plant and equipment. The intake structure was formed with a reinforced concrete notch weir placed to driven steel piles. Excavation of the fish pass channel took 3 weeks, with all materials being landscaped within the scope of the works, reducing cost and environmental impact. Riffles and boulder dams were constructed using locally sourced stone materials and the planting scheme was carried out to the new river channel using some 5,500 local native species.