Technical Bulletin Water Quality Monitoring on Construction Sites

The likelihood of an environmental incident on site can be minimised by effective preparedness, planning and monitoring. Regular monitoring of potentially affected watercourses provides quantitative scientific data that can act either as protection for the developer from incorrect allegations, or can prove highly useful to monitor the severity and duration of an incident, should one occur.

The Law The water environment is protected by the Water Any environmental damage caused by the developer will need Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and to be remedied at the cost of the developer and may be Wales) Regulations (2017) and The Water Environment and accompanied by heavy fines or even jail sentences. Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 (Amended 2015) which It is now common place for there to be a requirement for requires all European water bodies to achieve “good” water quality monitoring as a condition of a planning consent. chemical and ecological status by 2021. In Scotland this is backed up by the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations (Amended 2015), and The Water Damage to watercourses Environment (Miscellaneous) (Scotland) Regulations 2017. Waters, including rivers, streams, ditches, ponds, lakes / lochs / loughs, groundwater and coastal waters up to 3 (Scotland) & Guidance for Pollution Prevention provides environmental 1 (England) nautical miles offshore, have legal protection from good practice guidance for the whole UK, summarising the harm and pollution. Damage to water courses is one of the best practice to avoid incidents which would damage the leading reasons for prosecution by SEPA or the Environment water environment. Following this guidance and ensuring an Agency. This can be as a consequence of: incident response plan is in place can minimise the risk of pollution events happening. GPPs provide environmental Poisonous or noxious substances entering a water regulatory guidance directly to Northern Ireland, Scotland and body and detrimentally affecting it. This can include Wales only. For businesses in England, regulatory guidance is silt, cement, concrete, oil, petroleum spirit, chemicals, available from GOV.UK instead. solvents or sewage. Changes to physico-chemical parameters such as The EU Environmental Liability Directive (2013) uses the temperature, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen resulting in polluter pays principle to prevent and remedy environmental detrimental impacts on stream ecology. damage. The Directive defines "environmental damage" as damage to protected species and natural habitats, damage to water and damage to soil.

For more information visit www.nevisenvironmental.com Or email us at [email protected] “Nevis provided a first-class service to our project in the Highlands. From the outset, there were difficulties to be overcome, but they managed the environmental issues and kept us informed of the progress.” Nick Halley - Invenergy LLC

These can be caused by: in-situ, samples should be taken in appropriate bottles and tested at a UKAS accredited laboratory. Fuel or chemical spillages. Disturbance of ground resulting in silt laden runoff Poor About Nevis surface water management (lack of settlement lagoons of Nevis provides bespoke town planning consultancy, silt traps in areas of silt laden runoff). environmental management and monitoring solutions to Unlicensed abstractions or discharges to surface or clients throughout the planning, project delivery and groundwater. operational phases. Our clients receive flexible, tailored environmental solutions – working with your team or as Protection for the Developer your team, we are here to protect your interests and your Comprehensive water quality monitoring is one way of investment. protecting the developer from allegations of causing damage to watercourses. Robust water quality data can provide evidence of a change, or a lack of change, of water quality, and can be a highly useful tool for settling disputes.

Typically, if a development has a watercourse in the vicinity, water quality monitoring will be a condition of the planning permission. If it is not, monitoring is still highly recommended, not only because of the protection it offers the developer but because it will also help place the developer in a positive light, both with the local authority and the local community.

Monitoring of Pollution Events In the event of a pollution incident, water quality monitoring can help to inform on the type, severity, and length of the pollution event. This information can then be used to inform If you require more information or independent technical the type of mitigation to be used and to monitor the advice on your project, please do not hesitate to contact effectiveness of a mitigation or restoration efforts. Regular us. monitoring of the affected watercourse enables efficient mitigation and restoration measures, minimising the damage to the watercourse, and the cost to the developer. Contact Details Best Practice T: +44 (0) 1463 830231 Water quality monitoring should provide comprehensive E: [email protected] quantitative data on the physical and chemical quality of a www.nevisenvironmental.com watercourse. This should include a suitable amount of baseline data, ideally be collected over 12 months, covering all temporal variations of the watercourse prior to construction commencing. Monitoring points should be located to cover all watersheds “It is now common place for affected by the development and be located where the watercourse exits the zone of influence from the there to be a requirement for development. water quality monitoring as a Water quality monitoring typically involves testing a condition of a planning consent.” watercourse for a selection of physical and chemical parameters, including pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, conductivity, metals, nitrates, biochemical oxygen demand, and hydrocarbons. For parameters not being tested

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