Experts for Canal & River Trust to help with climate change

THE Canal & River Trust is to employ more experts.

This time they are to help it mange the problems of climate change and its resulting increase in rain and resulting floods.

Floods, that this year alone have closed such as the navigable rivers time and time again leaving boats and marinas in peril.

Experts to advise

Now, the trust is to employ experts to advise it of the precautions and changes to make to lessen such impact both on the waterways and reservoirs, and importantly the embankments and cuttings that are increasingly being washed away resulting in major operations and closures to navigations.

The experts, with their specialist knowledges, will be on hand to call upon to advise and support on the problems that are being faced with the climate change.

Contracts have been awarded to Arcadis (UK) Ltd, RSK Environment Ltd and Geotechnical Engineering Ltd. to assist the trust to overcome the difficulties of the huge costs of repairing the damage that have been caused by the storms, with the trust's Chief Infrastructure & Programmes Officer, Malcolm Horne telling:

Keep canals safe

“To keep our canals safe and available for years to come, we must make sure our historic structures are sound, and that we’re planning our works with the best possible knowledge, both from our in-house expertise and drawing on the latest advances from other industries.”

If planning works are needed, the trust has also agreed terms with specialists in technical engineering and design services from Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd, Pell Frischmann Consultants Ltd and Stantec UK Ltd.

These new contracts were awarded, the trust tells, following a rigorous tender process carried out over 18 months. The contracts are for a period of up to eight years, with an initial term of four years. The various costs are not stated.