Fenay Beck Flood-Alleviation Scheme

The paper describes flood detention and channel improvement schemes which have been designed to alleviate the flooding of domestic and industrial properties to a 50-year standard of protection. Landscape architects were incorporated into the design teams to cover environmental aspects.
The flood-detention dam would have been constructed mainly of colliery waste, and the design of the concrete horseshoe spillway and stilling basin was checked using a 1 : 40 physical model. River regulation would be by an automatic vertical gate activated by downstream water levels.
Following planning refusal, a channel-improvement scheme was adopted, which is presently under construction. Reduction in valley storage increased downstream flows, necessitating the enlargement of an old brick and concrete culvert within the ICI works to ensure that there were no detrimental effects within their boundary. An increased benefit/cost ratio of 3.46, as compared with 2.55 obtained for the detention scheme, was partly due to the application of new standards.     

Supervision of Sewers for Adoption

The Water Authorities Association guide 'Sewers for Adoption' has achieved considerable success in unifying practice and establishing well-understood and recognized standards for the design and construction of sewers by developers under Section 18 of the Public Health Act 1936. However, the supervision provided by the adopting authorities — particularly in relation to supervision fees — has been an area of dispute for some time.
The Construction Industry Research and Information Association (CIRIA) has recently completed a study on the optimum levels of supervision for sewer construction. The study included a national survey on the nature and extent of problems occurring during the course of Section 18 work and the supervision practices presently being undertaken. The study puts forward recommendations on the nature and timing of periodic inspections undertaken during construction. Several specific problem areas are discussed, ranging from measures required to ensure that design submissions are of an adequate standard, to the timing of any pre-adoption closed-circuit television inspection. This paper draws upon the contents of the report and discusses some of the principal findings and recommendations of the study.     

Water and Environmental Management in the Third World

E uropean efforts in water and environmental management are primarily concerned with the refinement and re-moulding of well-established institutional structures. In the Third World such structures either exist in a state of insecure infancy or have to be created. This paper contends that whilst consulting engineers have contributed significantly to technical developments in the Third World, their influence upon related management structures has been largely stifled. The reasons for this are drawn into focus by an examination of practice in other countries and suggestions are made for new approaches. The influence of International Funding Agencies is highlighted and questioned.