Technical Journal 09 Papers 135 - 149 Welcome to the ninth edition of the Atkins Technical Journal which features papers covering a wide range of technologies but with many common themes. A great example of this comes from our asset management work where our Highways and Transportation business is leading the way in advising clients on maintaining availability of highway networks, while the paper on Skynet 5 shows we are doing the same in our Defence, Aerospace and Communications business for satellites. Innovation and thought leadership is evident in all the papers; we have transferred learning from our Aerospace teams to our Bridge teams to produce Fibre Reinforced Polymer bridge prototypes and we have led the global sustainability debate in diverse areas such as the implementation of electric vehicles, environmentally acceptable waste disposal techniques and biomass combined heat and power technologies. We are constantly extending and improving current industry practices across all that we do, informing the next generation of codes of practice. The papers here present examples from such diverse areas as the treatment of water run-off from highways to the fatigue of stranded cables under vibration. I hope you enjoy the selection of technical papers included in this edition. This ninth Journal, and all previous editions, are available on our external website. We have introduced an email subscription alert service and if you wish to fnd out more, please visit: www.atkinsglobal.com/en/about-us/our-publications/technical-journals; Chris Hendy Network Chair for Bridge Engineering Chair of H&T Technical Leaders’ Group Atkins Technical Journal 9 Papers 135 - 149 Drainage 135 Adapting assessment of road drainage to the Water Framework Directive 05 136 Tram drainage 15 Environment & Sustainability 137 Winter Haven Chain of Lakes: conservation and restoration targets for sustainable and innovative watershed planning 25 138 Landflls vs. incinerators: identifcation and comparison of the hazards posed by the toxic emissions associated with the disposal of municipal solid waste in Puerto Rico 37 139 Powering ahead: how to put electric vehicles on Scotland’s roads 51 140 The feasibility of biomass CHP as an energy and CO2 source for commercial glasshouses 61 Highway Network Management 141 Performance management framework for managing agent contractors 81 142 The Area 6 MAC approach to planning & programme management 91 Structural Dynamics 143 Determination of minimum vessel wall thickness under design condition loadings 101 144 Innovative optical measurement technique for cable deformation analysis 113 Structures 145 Optimised design of an FRP bridge using aerospace technology for ultra-lightweight solutions 121 146 Reconstruction of drystone retaining walls using composite reinforced soil structures 127 147 Vehicle-induced vibration of a concrete flled steel tube arch bridge 135 Systems Engineering 148 A SPAR modelling platform case study: Skynet 5 143 149 How can CBTC improve the service on a saturated railway system? 149 Contents 3 4 135 Ian Dalgleish Adapting assessment of Environmental Scientist Water & Environment road drainage to the Water Atkins Framework Directive Abstract Mark Blackmore Atkins has accumulated a wealth of practical experience of investigating the Principal Consultant impacts to the water environment from highways and road run-off. Since Water & Environment 2009 we have been applying the guidance for this area using part of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (HD 45/09) and its associated water Atkins quality model Highways Agency Water Risk Assessment Tool (HAWRAT). This was developed by the Highways Agency (HA) with the Environment Agency (EA) to meet the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requirements for discharges from highways. Using this WFD compliant approach to assessing the impacts of run-off on surface waters, Atkins has gained practical experience of refning feld data for use in HAWRAT and prioritising possible mitigation actions (or measures) on a scheme, catchment or even country scale. However, there are still ambiguities with obtaining and applying treatment effciencies for the potential mitigation measures. These are important as the selection of particular solutions (e.g. swales, balancing ponds and wetlands) has a fnancial impact on the scheme design and an absolute impact on water quality. In this paper the changes in the DMRB approach to treatment of road drainage driven by the WFD are considered and the process to reduce the impacts on the wider water environment is explored. Introduction The planning and construction of Not only is there a requirement for new and modifed road schemes the Highways Agency not knowingly have the potential to impact on to pollute the environment, but now surface waters, groundwater and with the WFD and associated River food risk. In most cases there would Basin Management Plans (RBMP) be a planning requirement for an prevention of diffuse pollution assessment to be completed for from highways may become a key highway new build or improvement component of reducing impacts from schemes. For water, this assessment catchment-wide activities on our has been guided by best practice environment. and transposed into methodology As long ago as May, 2004, the in the Design Manual for Roads Highways Agency identifed 5 key and Bridges (DMRB) European issues relating to implementation legislation in the form of the Water of the WFD that affect the water Framework Directive (WFD)1, adopted environment. These included: in 2000, has been incorporated (November, 2009) into the DMRB as • The identifcation of key 2 a new Standard HD 45/09 . This has pollutants and concentration Drainage changed the method of assessment, levels in highway run-off; requirement for data collection and • The impact of known soluble the type of data collected to assess highway run-off on the ecology of the impact of road development on receiving waters; the water environment. 5 • The accumulation and dispersal of requirement for assessing the existing suspended sediments in waters; The background of the baseline condition for comparison. If the existing condition is not • The fate of pollutants found in WFD accurately assessed there could be the unsaturated zone; The WFD is European legislation an issue with over-compensation or • The performance effcacy of that was enacted to deliver a better under-compensation with mitigation. different pollution treatment water environment and a consistent Under-compensation could systems. approach to water management have a detrimental effect on the environment and over-compensation The frst three issues have now been across European Community member could be questioned in terms of value addressed in part through research states. It requires planning on a long for money. leading to the new Standard and term basis, outlining a process to guidance contained in HD 45/09. be implemented over three 6 year Meeting good ecological planning cycles up to 2027. As such There is ongoing research by Water status Research Council (WRc) into the its national adoption is undertaken fourth issue. As yet, it has not been over a period of tens of years, long Prior to implementation of the WFD, possible to address the ffth issue. enough to plan large-scale changes. the EA used River Ecosystem targets It is a single, but large and complex and assessed compliance based on Ian Barker, Head of Water at the piece of legislation from which biological and chemical monitoring Environment Agency has reported the following key points can be results. Through the WFD there has “Rivers in England and Wales are at extracted, relevant to implementation been a requirement to consider more their healthiest for over a century. in the UK, with particular regard to parameters, particularly for biology, But there are still big challenges. highways assessment. which contribute to an ecological Pollution from felds and roads needs and a chemical classifcation for each 1. There is a requirement to to be tackled and the Environment body of water. The EA currently has prevent any deterioration of Agency has plans to revitalise 9,500 maps available on its website that water quality; miles of waterways between now show the existing and proposed 3 and 2015.” 2. There is a requirement to meet (2015) ecological objective of main This paper focuses solely on refning “good” ecological status; watercourses in the UK. For most Atkins’ method of assessment of 3. There is a requirement for rivers there will be a requirement to water quality and surface water, catchment scale management. meet “good” ecological status by although HD 45/09 covers the wider 2015.5 aspects of groundwater and food These three points will be dealt with below. The immediate impact of a risk too. Consideration will be made requirement to meet an objective of: No deterioration of “good” ecological status on the assessment method provided in HD • The background to the WFD; Taking the recent M25 DBFO 45/09, is that this objective should be contract4 as an example, it • The key technical points of the used for the majority of watercourses is common to fnd there is a current assessment measure (HD which within HD 45/09 would requirement, in contract, for no 45/09); now be assessed to have a “high” worsening of effect with regard to importance. • Issues relating to assessment of the water environment. In real terms, mitigation. at the time of planning there was a Determining the importance of Where appropriate, examples general trend