Mackley employees working on two Team Van Oord sites in West Sussex have received specialist training on silt management, one of the leading causes of pollution generated at construction sites.
The training was delivered by the specialist consultancy Frog Environmental to teams working on the Clay’s Lake* and Shoreham Adur Tidal Walls** schemes.
Organised by Project Manager Terry Gretton and Environmental Advisor Barry Garvin, the training covered the legal requirements associated with the management of silt on construction sites, and included a number of case studies covering silt pollution incidents in the UK.
Silt is a fine sand, clay or other material carried by running water and deposited as a sediment, particularly in a channel or harbour. It is said to be the single main pollutant generated at construction sites and largely arises from the erosion of exposed soils by surface water runoff.
In a post on its website, Frog Environmental says that good surface water management is essential for the protection of sensitive environmental receptors such as aquatic life in rivers, streams and lakes. Groundwater sources, drinking water aquifers, abstractions for industrial and domestic processes as well as wastewater treatment facilities also require protection from silt.
The training session also focused on correct on-site planning to reduce the risk of silt run-off, mitigation to reduce silt pollution and monitoring requirements during water filtration/treatment.
It also covered techniques to manage silt disturbance in marine and tidal environments during piling or other ground intrusive works, including dredging.
David Knapp, Mackley’s Business Development Manager, said: “Our Health, Safety and Environment Policy includes a commitment to reduce our impacts upon the environment. Our sites operate to best practice standards and all of our site managers receive regular environmental awareness training.
“With pollution control is an absolute priority for our site teams, this specialist training has provided a welcome boost to the expertise among our site teams.
“Following the training, we are now trialling some new silt mitigation pollution controls at Clay’s Lake.”
*The Clay’s Lake Flood Prevention Scheme is part of the Upper Mole Flood Alleviation Scheme which was developed by the Environment Agency after floods in the Crawley area during 2000. The works comprise the removal of an existing dam which is being replaced with a larger dam. This will increase the lake’s capacity from 10,000 cubic metres to nearly 400,000 cubic metres, thereby reducing the risk of flood to more than 280 homes in the area, and to Gatwick Airport.
**The Shoreham Adur Tidal Walls Scheme is being delivered on behalf of the Environment Agency, Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership, Adur District Council and West Sussex County Council. Under the scheme improvements are being carried out along 7.2km of defences along the River Adur between Shoreham Old Fort and the A27, to significantly improve protection from tidal flooding to properties and businesses on both banks of the river. The scheme will also improve defences for Brighton City Airport, which was extensively flooded when the previous embankment failed during high tides in December 2013.
19 April 2017
