Water Pollution
Water is a vital natural resource for many reasons. For example, millions of litres are needed every day for human consumption, washing, irrigating crops, and cooling industrial processes, not to mention leisure.
Despite our dependence on water we continue to pollute this natural resource. In 2001 33,722 water pollution incidents occurred. 3,447 of which were generated by UK industry and 755 were as a result of the Construction and Demolition Industry activities (source: Environment Agency)
Our businesses may cause water pollution through the follow activities;
- Spillage of toxic material during delivery, storage and use
- Silt or cement washout entering a water course
- Waste entering a water course
- Spillage of sewage
We aim to protect water resources from pollution by ensuring that business activities do not cause detrimental impacts.
Our 2002 Performance
We did not receive any prosecutions relating to water pollution incidents.
Through our centrally collated complaints process, we received 15 complaints during 2002 relating to water pollution, which is the same number as those received in 2001. This demonstrates that we have maintained our performance in controlling water pollution, although indicating that there is scope for improvement.
Our on-site control procedures help to ensure that we do not generate water pollution. For example, at the M6 Toll contract the project team wanted to ensure that it had provision for the prevention of water pollution from construction activities and also from operational activities.
Site Compound Areas
- contained drainage systems
- separate oil/chemical storage and plant workshop areas with sealed drainage
- discharges via interceptor and silt settlement lagoons
- emergency spill response teams in compounds
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New Motorway Drainage
- pollution control devices
- sealed carriageway drainage
- flood water balancing ponds
- wetland treatment areas
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The project team also wanted to ensure that it created new water resources.
35 new ponds were created, including;
- flood water balancing ponds with enhanced habitats
- wetland treatment areas
- ecological ponds
- wetland areas
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6 km of new watercourses were created that;
- do include habitat creation (water vole, crayfish)
- do meander and change in bed level
- do not incorporate “structures”
- do not contain concrete lined sections
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In addition, our design and maintenance of drainage systems can have an impact on the incidents of water pollution within the UK. This is demonstrated by the use of settling tanks to enable contaminated water to be sufficiently 'cleaned' to enable it to be discharged to a local brook during the development of the University of Hertfordshire Residential and Sports Facilities project.
Please refer to the Resource Use section of this report to review our management of water consumption.
Case Records
The following case records are examples of our control of water pollution impacts;
2002
2001
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