Lanes Group has carried out a major survey of a significant surface water culvert running through one of the biggest seaside resorts on the UK's south coast to check its condition to manage flood risk.
Engineers based at the Lanes depot at Sevenoaks in Kent inspected and cleaned the entire length of the 1.8 mile long culverted watercourse through Eastbourne for East Sussex County Council.
During heavy rainfall events it is believed the culvert plays an important role in draining a large proportion of Eastbourne diverting flows away from the original alignment of the watercourse into Eastbourne Park.
John Oakes, the Lanes Group Area Development Manager who project-managed the work, said: "For a number of reasons, this was a very complex task.
"But it was important that East Sussex County Council's flood risk management team got a very thorough understanding of the condition of this asset so they, and the county council's partners can manage flood risk into the future."
The storm water culvert, made up of brick, clay and concrete pipework, 0.3m to 1.1m in diameter, runs from Motcombe Park in the west, through the town centre and out to industrial areas to the east, with an outfall into the Horsey open sewer.
John Oakes said: "Our survey work is the latest stage of a process, following two years of modelling of the storm water system by the County Council and three months of detailed planning.
"The survey was carried out with a mix of night and day works, to minimise traffic disruption and involved careful negotiations to gain access to the curtilage of both commercial premises and private homes.
"As is often the case with assets like this, which are developed over decades, if not centuries in some cases, the plans are historical documents, so tracking the precise path of the culvert can be problematic."
As a result of the survey, East Sussex County Council has a detailed plan of precisely where the culvert runs, better understanding of how it connects to the wider drainage system and HD quality video and stills images showing its condition.
Six Lanes Group engineers worked on the project using a jet vac tanker, a CCTV camera van and a portable camera unit, used to reach stretches of culvert not accessible from roads.
Scheduling the work was made more complicated because it coincided with Airbourne, the annual Eastbourne international air show, the biggest free air show in the UK, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the town.
John Oakes said: "This was a technically challenging project that required engineers with the right skills, using precisely the right equipment. Maintaining excellent communications with the client and the public was also essential.
"The fact that it went smoothly and objectives were achieved reflects positively on how the whole team - Lanes Group, East Sussex County Council and other agencies - worked effectively together to get the job done."
