Rivers Agency Receives Top Award

A flood alleviation scheme in Moneymore has received the highest ever score in the construction category of the UK-wide CEEQUAL (Civil Engineering Environmental Quality) awards.

The awards recognise the environmental quality and social practices of civil engineering projects.

The Department of Agriculture's Rivers Agency scheme - which addressed the risk of serious flooding to more than 100 houses from the Ballymully River by constructing a 510m floodwall - scored 93%.

CEEQUAL Chief Executive Roger Venables presented the award at the Construction Employers Federation in Belfast last night.

Speaking after the event, Stephen Dawson from Rivers Agency said: "We worked closely with the appointed contractor, Dawson WAM, to ensure that this project not only met its primary flood alleviation objectives but that it was constructed in an environmentally sustainable manner.


"There were many challenges to overcome and these included constraints of bird nesting and fish spawning seasons, the proximity of houses to the construction work and our desire to make energy savings through our choice of materials and the construction methods adopted."

Prior to work commencing, the project team produced detailed plans to establish high benchmarks in sustainability including green travel, energy management, air quality, sediment and erosion control, pollution contingency, site waste management and customer care.

The team engaged Ballinderry Fisheries to electrofish the watercourse to relocate small fry to a local hatchery downstream, and it also worked closely with nearby residents to deal effectively with any neighbourhood concerns.

Mr Dawson continued: "From the re-cycling perspective, 98% of inert and non-hazardous site waste material was sent to an energy recovery plant and the project included a tree-planting programme whereby we logged and stacked any felled trees to create habitats along the riverbanks for invertebrates."

(NS/BMcC)