Team Van Oord Completes Whittlesey Washes Scheme

A project to strengthen the banks of the Whittlesey Washes flood reservoir has been completed a year early and has come in £10 million under budget, according to Peterborough Telegraph.

Carried out by Team Van Oord on behalf of the Environment Agency, the project has helped reduce the risk of flooding to more than 250 homes in the Fens.

Work on the project, which got underway in 2013 and was originally budgeted at £26 million, involved strengthening 16km of the reservoir’s 18km south bank by placing 300,000 tonnes of material and installing a low level, 250m long concrete wall.

Despite having to comply with a working window of July to October to avoid disturbing overwintering and ground nesting birds, Team Van Oord completed the works a year ahead of program.

Whittlesey Washes, also known as the Nene Washes, are used to store excess water from the River Nene and play an important part in reducing the risk of flooding during combined high tides and high river flows.