River Teme

The River Teme is a sensitive SSSI and SAC river and over 150 metres of severe bank erosion was threatening a National Grid pipeline. Salix lead the design and build solution with a hybrid bank protection solution. The toe was stabilised with a site specifically graded rip rap below water and then extensive soft/bioengineering works above. The project costs were approximately £1.2m and represent the largest riverbank repair works ever undertaken by National Grid. Salix’s Design & Build contract formed the majority of the works and was valued at £740,000. Innovative working methods includes a submerged blockstone causeway that permitted fish movement and allowed access to the opposite bank to work.

The alternative to work on the opposite bank was a 2.2 km access track across wet ground involving importing and then removal to landfill of two thousand tonnes of imported haul road material. Thus, over two thousand tonnes of aggregate were saved from the project. We identified this significant cost and carbon/sustainability saving as part of our sustainability review procedures. Tree limbs removed for access were reused as part of the soft engineering revetment. Salix grew in-house over 2000m2 of reinforced grass/wildflower turf on 40m2 large rolls to provide soft engineering protection above average low water level. The high erosion control performance of this turf meant that a soft solution could be used as a direct alternative to rock rip rap, saving over one thousand tonnes of imported material whilst creating a more sustainable and ecologically valuable solution. The various soft engineering solutions presented by Salix represent a major cost saving over traditional hard revetments. Our Health & Safety risk assessment set maximum water levels and monitoring levels were installed at key working areas to determine safe working conditions.