The following is an edited version of an email received from the Environment Agency:
From the beginning of December 2014 we will be working with our contractors, OPUS International, to undertake some investigations at Sunbury Weir. The investigations will take place between 1 and 19 December 2014.
As part of the River Thames Scheme, capacity improvements are needed to the weirs at Sunbury, Molesey and Teddington. These investigations are needed to provide information on the land around the weirs, which will help us plan and design the capacity improvements. More information on the River Thames Scheme can be found online at www.gov.uk (search for River Thames Scheme)
The investigations may vary slightly across the different locations of the weir area, but will involve our contractors using equipment to drill small boreholes into isolated pieces of land around the weir to investigate the ground. Most of the boreholes are located on the weir area’s themselves and the remainder on the towpath immediately adjacent to the weir with some located on Sunbury Lock Ait. The equipment needed to drill the boreholes will be towed on the back of a LandRover, so heavy goods vehicles/plant will not be required to undertake this work.
It will take our contractor around 7 to10 days to undertake the work at both Teddington and Sunbury Weirs. We will try to make sure the boreholes are positioned so that they will cause the least disturbance wherever possible, ensuring that traffic and people can easily pass by. The working areas themselves will be fenced off and protected during construction, and then fully reinstated afterwards.
All drilling fluids, mud and oils will be removed from the site on completion of the works, with nothing being discharged into adjacent drains, watercourses or land. All the works will be supervised by a trained and fully experienced engineer. There may be some low level noise caused by the drilling of the boreholes but this will not last long. Investigations will be conducted in working hours between 8:00am and 6:00pm, but are likely to be restricted to daylight times.
During the time the work is undertaken, up to two small mobile units may be located adjacent to the weirs. These will be used for storage of the data and information being collected from the boreholes and as facilities for the contractors undertaking the work.
Sunbury weir will be accessed from the riverside road off Waterside Drive. Where any disturbance does occur, the land will be reinstated back to its original condition prior to the investigations.
For further information please contact the River Thames Scheme team at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
John Cooper - Community Engagement Project Manager - River Thames Scheme
Tel: 01491 828478 | Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
