The Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW) Capital Delivery Alliance comprising Mott MacDonald Bentley and joint ventures between Morgan Sindall/Arup and Skanska/Arcadis is undertaking the largest programme of scientific coastal investigation work ever undertaken in Wales.
DCWW is investing over £8 million in scientific investigations at 49 sites around the Welsh coastline. The project will provide the company and its regulator, Natural Resources Wales, with the tools to help better understand and protect Wales’ coastal waters for years to come.
The programme will include field surveys, water quality monitoring and mathematical modelling. The alliance will develop computer models of the Welsh coastal waters and carry out assessments of bathing and shellfish water to determine whether further investments are required to DCWW assets to maintain high levels of quality. In addition to its specialist in-house experts, the alliance has also engaged water consultants Intertek to lead the modelling and compliance components and a specialist survey team, led by APEM and including CREH and Fugro, to deliver this programme of work.
Mott MacDonald Bentley’s Mark Dives, project manager of the Capital Delivery Alliance, said: “This project will make use of a number of innovative techniques, such as state-of-the-art modelling and microbial tracers, simulating coastal dynamics and pollutant transport, as well as the most advanced coastal survey technology ever seen. The study area covers over 2700km of coastline, including more than ten major estuaries.”
“The sheer scale of the task in hand – to gather a huge amount of historic data to feed the study and drive a substantial survey programme to gather new data – in the time available will provide a big challenge to the Capital Delivery Alliance. However we are confident in our abilities and expertise to undertake the project safely, efficiently and to achieve sustainable outcomes for the benefit of both DCWW customers and the environment,” Mark added.
River and coastal survey work is already underway, with the project due to be completed at the end of the first quarter of 2017.