The project, which continued protection for around 2,000 homes in Lincoln, supported the Environment Agency’s zero carbon operational objectives and modernised aging assets based upstream of the county town.
Central to the project was the replacement of the Motor Control Centres (MCC) at the sites. The new MCCs were linked to measuring instruments on the rivers, so they could automatically operate flood gates that direct water into the storage reservoirs if water levels get too high.
A 4G network was rolled out, connecting the sites and providing an overview of water levels across all four locations. This allows Environment Agency staff to monitor and control the floodgates remotely from an app on their phones, making the team more efficient and reducing the number of personnel needed on standby during periods of heavy rainfall.
To increase operational resilience, more than 30 individual flood measuring instruments were installed across the four sites; all associated underground services were replaced; security and lighting were enhanced; and three of the sites were equipped with permanent standby power generation. Jackson also oversaw the complete refurbishment of the existing floodgate infrastructure on two sites. This involved the removal and repair of eight flood gates using a 200-tonne crane.
