Land and Water Services (LAWS) were contracted at short notice by the Environment Agency to carry out dredging works at four sites around London.
These locations were sections of brooks or small streams which were classified as main rivers and presented a flood risk.
Two of the schemes involved the application of a longer term approach whereby previously over dredged areas were infilled with gravel to give a steady gradient in order to limit material settling in those areas.
All of the sites had restricted access and it took careful planning in order to get material and machinery in and out of site. All of the work was carried out from the bankside using a range of long reach excavators.
Other challenges to overcome involved working under overhead power lines, presence of active vole populations, forming a temporary access bridge and the discovery of asbestos.