Lanes camera technology is being used to inspect sea defences at the most easterly point in the United Kingdom to make sure they are strong enough to withstand storm surges this coming winter.
A team from the Lanes depot at St Neots has been helping civil engineers, working on behalf of the local council, to monitor the foundations of the sea wall at Ness Point, near Lowestoft, in Suffolk.
The stretch of coast faces some of the highest erosion threats in the UK.
Lanes has been commissioned by Mackley Civil Engineering, which is working with Waveney District Council on a long-term plan to maintain and strengthen the sea defences.
The team used a camera on the end of a flexible rod and a mainline robotic camera to gather images from 90 inspection chambers at regular intervals along a half mile stretch of sea wall.
The images will be analysed to see if the constant action of the waves has undermined material beneath the sea wall, creating voids that could cause the structure to fall into the sea.
Mackley Project Manager Andy Munroe said: “The Lanes camera technology worked very well, and helped give us, and the council, the evidence we need to monitor the structural integrity of the seal wall.
“Winter storm surges are predicted to become more extreme over the coming years, so it’s important we take the right steps to protect local communities. Lanes is helping us to do that.”
Lanes project manager Richard Savage said: “Ness Point is the most easterly point of the UK. If a storm comes in from the North Sea, this stretch of coast is the first to be hit.
“Over the years, significant sea defences have been built, but the action of the sea, especially during winter, is constantly battering them, and threatening to undermine them, which is why these inspections are required.
“The inspection chambers are no more than a metre deep, but because of where they are placed and their size it’s not easy see into the bottom of them.
“That’s why our camera systems, which are designed to inspect sewers of varying shapes and sizes for drain blockages and other problems, and provide high quality images for detailed analysis, proved so effective.
“This was an unusual project for us, but it’s certainly good to know that we’re helping to maintain the coastal defences, because without them, land could be lost to the sea, and communities could suffer serious flooding.” www.lanesfordrains.co.uk
