Added value:
Massive growth in population and infrastructure is planned for London and the Thames basin over the next twenty years. As part of the flood defence system helping to manage flood risk and protect £80 billion of property and seven million people, the Thames Barrier and Associated Gates play a vital role. Halcrow Group have been involved with deformation monitoring of the Thames and Barking Barriers since 1995, in addition to providing vital data on floodwalls and sluices that form the tidal river defence. Halcrow Group provides the tidal Thames team with hydrographic survey support and Global Positioning System data as a part of our wider consultancy services.

Innovation:
Cutting-edge engineering survey equipment and software are fully employed when carrying out the engineering survey work at the Thames Barrier and Associated Gates. This ranges from sub-millimetre precision total stations, precise digital levels to geotechnical tools such as tilt and verticality sensors. Laser scanning techniques have been employed to build three-dimensional models of components and whole structural systems, where the resulting data can be used for many purposes – engineering design, security analysis or even teaching school groups.

We have researched the possible use of satellite interferometry to obtain retrospective settlement monitoring data for the Barrier and surrounding area. Such data is obtained remotely, offering health & safety and logistical benefits, and could provide vital in-fill data between yearly deformation monitoring surveys.

Team work:
As a part of the partnering approach Halcrow adopts with its client and fellow consultants, we are enabling the Environment Agency and DEFRA to meet the high level targets for flood risk management in the UK. This involves close collaboration between teams of civil, structural and mechanical/electrical engineers, hydraulic modellers, engineering surveyors and many more disciplines. Careful planning and liaison at every stage, both internally and externally, is the way we meet and surpass our clients’ expectations. Halcrow Group is proud to assist the Environment Agency with their flood risk management of the Thames Estuary into the twenty-first century.