When pollution enters a watercourse it harms wildlife and people.

We worked with water infrastructure and civil engineering specialists, Coffey, to create a solution to prevent pollution on a site in Severn Trent. It was essential to ensure pollution did not enter the Derwent Reservoir which they were working on. 

Sensitive site

Derwent Reservoir is entirely manmade; however, it benefits from being in a wider national park which is an area designated as of special scientific interest due to its range of flora and fauna. On the shore to the west, you will find a nature reserve. Cuckoos, Redstarts, and Golden Plovers are all birds you can find here. 

Coffey had been working on repairing one of the river outlets at the reservoir in the Peak District. There was a real risk of aggregate runoff into the reservoir as they needed to fill a scour hole that had formed. The hole was about 4-5 meters deep and required around 450 tonnes of aggregate to fill it in along with a mixture of other materials to remediate the problem.  

 Aggregates can have a particularly deleterious effect on water and aquatic wildlife as they often contain contaminants. 

Bubble Curtain to hold back pollution

Coffey invested in a Bubble Curtain that provided a boundary across the entry of the reservoir. This meant that any polluted run-off was prevented from entering the reservoir. The work was done on behalf of Severn Trent. It’s essential to minimise pollution, as the water is a crucial part of the water supply network in northeast England. 

Bubble Curtains are completely safe to use. They can be used in extremely sensitive water courses as lines of micro-bubbles form an effective curtain that controls pollution and boosts oxygen levels. These fine bubbles will contain debris and silt from work in the channel. The fine curtains make it a very safe and effective solution for this type of project. 

 

“They (Frog Environmental) were efficient in providing advice and the most appropriate product for our project. The team responded promptly to ensure the Bubble Curtain was delivered to the site on schedule. It has worked well and has been great on site. We are demobilising this week, and the bubble curtain is already in store at our next site for reuse!” 

Hayley Jackson, the Site Agent involved in the project said.

Frog Environmental are water quality & silt control specialists. We are working with; contractors, regulators and consultants within construction, utilities, marine and coastal and public sector industries across the UK and Europe.

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