Canal and river dredging
Blue Boar Contracts provide much more than just canal or river dredging services in isolation. In addition, we can also manage the entire project from start to finish if required, covering the following areas:
- Initial survey to identify volume of silt to be removed from the stretch of waterway which requires dredging and the requirement for long-reach and floating excavators.
- Sediment analysis using specialist soil scientists to determine if silt is suitable for re-distribution onto agricultural land.
- Development of relationships with local farmers to identify suitable locations for silt, when it has been deemed safe to do so.
- Application for Waste Exemption Certificates, including liaison with Environment Agency to demonstrate that silt will have a positive environmental impact.
- Services searches to ensure that no submerged pipelines will be affected.
- Ecology surveys to identify any protected species such as newts or water voles, which may affect the overall project.
- Installation of bypass culverts or silt curtains to protect water course.
- Dredging of canals or rivers using long reach and/or floating excavators.
- Distribution of silt onto farm land to the required proportions based on results of soil sampling, including spreading, levelling, cultivating and stone picking.
- Restoration of towpath or water edge using a variety of materials to meet the requirements of the client.
Costs for work of this type are dependent on the overall area of the waterway section, the amount of silt to be removed and the ultimate location of the silt, the requirement for long reach dredging vs floating dredging as a percentage of the overall project, plus any additional restoration works.