Land and Water Services Ltd – Press release 22^nd May 2012

As part of the habitat improvement and erosion protection works associated with Wightlink Ltd.’s investment into upgraded ferry facilities in Lymington -(Lymington to Yarmouth IOW Service), Land and Water Services Ltd (LAWS) were contracted for the first phase of the saltmarsh restoration works.

The works comprised the collection of dredged spoils from marinas’ within the Lymington Reach and their translocation by shallow drafted barges to the Boiler Marsh which was at the Estuary Mouth in a location that was relatively difficult to access. Here the sediments were discharged by a pontoon mounted pump-ashore unit, into a shallow basin of eroded marsh which LAWS had carefully placed sediment retention fences using natural materials.

This sediment recharge project was undertaken in February and March 2012 as part of a series of precautionary measures to ensure that the integrity of the Solent Maritime European Marine Site (EMS) was not adversely affected by the proposed operation of the Lymington to Yarmouth Wightlink W-Class ferry service.  The delivery of the works was sensitively timed between the periods when overwintering and breeding birds were using the site and involved considerable liaison between the Regulators, the Client, The Harbour Master, ABP mer (advisory consultant) and LAWS.

Land and Water Services Ltd were employed as Principal Contractor by the client ‘Wightlink’ to carry out these works beginning in February 2012 using their experience in working in this often hostile and remote environment.  Land and Water Services were able to supply all the specialist equipment and expertise necessary to complete the contract in-house.

The first challenge was the installation of the sediment retaining structures which were constructed using straw and heather bales secured with chestnut stakes. These structures were sensitively positioned across inlets and channels.  These structures serve to retain the recharge materials that were pumped into the eroding marsh and in the future will help to encourage natural settlement and also to reduce the wave energy exposure of the eroding marsh habitat.

Natural erosion protection fences installed in eroded area of saltmarsh at Limington

Land and Water Services mobilised one of their specialist amphibious excavators to construct the retaining structures as described above.  The low ground pressure machine travelled across the estuary and worked comfortably in the soft terrain with the minimum of impact. The excavator was also used to deploy and position the discharge pipeline across the saltmarsh.

Land and Water Long Reach amphibious excavator

Land and Water’s new river class tug, Clyde, and shallow drafted mud-hoppers were used to transport silts between the recovery and discharge sites, cross-navigating busy shipping lanes, requiring maximum communication during operations.

Land And Water River Class Tug Clyde

A pontoon mounted excavator and pumping system was then used to discharge excavated material, recovered from the marinas located on the opposite side of the marsh. The Pump-ashore unit was used to pump the dredged materials up to 900 meters onto the salt marshes.  Innovative thinking was required by LAWS to overcome some difficult pumping conditions, with exceptionally cold weather conditions dropping as low as -12 degrees.

Works took place within difficult tidal ranges offering only small operational windows, requiring extreme attention to detail and awareness of the surrounding and tidal conditions. Some delays were experienced due to weather conditions and tidal conditions meaning that the site was often completely inaccessible (dry!). Even with these conditions Land and Water met all contractual and environmental deadlines.

Land and Water Floating pumping station arrangement

Several regulatory, statutory and professional bodies had a keen interest in these highly sensitive saltmarsh works, including the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), the New Forest National Park Authority, the Environment Agency and Natural England.

Colin Scott, Managed Realignment and EIA Specialist, of ABP Marine Environmental Research (ABPmer) who advised throughout this project presented the initial findings from this work at the Central Dredging Association’s (CEDA’s) workshop on the use of Dredged Material on 8^th May 2012.  He commented that:

“Land and Water’s Senior Site Manager, Graham North, and his team did a superb job on the Boiler Marsh Sediment Recharge project at Lymington. The team worked in tough conditions in mid-winter to create what already (2 months later) is looking like an effective habitat restoration.  However, the work will be subject to on-going monitoring to verify the findings and will be overseen by a specialist panel of regulators and stakeholders who will advise further on its effectiveness. I am confident though that this will provide valuable lessons for the future management of marshes in the Solent and the rest of the UK. ”

Overview of Boiler Saltmarsh and pumping set up

Or contact Jayne Hornsby, Business Development Manager 0844 875 1260 – jayne.hornsby@land-water.co.uk 

Download Press Release (pdf) Lymington Salt Marsh Recharge Land and Water Press Release

Land & Water launch new tug boat, Clyde, in time for duty at the London 2012 Olympics. 

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 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has created the Catchment Restoration Fund with the aim of reducing pollution that comes from the way land is used and improving the landscape through which water flows. 

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