Environment

Prioritizing Remediation through Risk Assessment | Golder

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Project Title:

Prioritizing Remediation through Risk Assessment | Golder

Location:

Orust, Sweden

Client: 

Geological Survey Sweden

Business Sectors: 

Environment

Services (Technical Disciplines):

The surveys (performed by sub-contractors) included analysis of DDT levels in soil and earthworms (chemistry LOE), effects on reproduction of earthworms and springtail insects (toxicology LOE), and the carbon and nitrogen mineralization and species composition of earthworms, springtails and roundworms (ecology LOE).

Project Objectives/ Outcomes: 

The results showed insignificant risk of negative impacts on the soil ecosystem function (excluding hot-spots), and the assessed livestock, birds and larger mammals. The risk was also assessed to be insignificant for residents or visitors under the current circumstances. Although a theoretical risk exists for small mammals and children at certain circumstances if consumption habits changes compared to today. Further investigations are, however, needed to assess if there is an actual risk.

This project confirmed that the TRIAD method is appropriate for assessing the site-specific risks to soil ecosystem function posed by the prior use of DDT at the site. However, a suitable reference area or good concentration gradient is required. The quantitative evaluation method is considered useful for prioritizing risks between areas, while the qualitative method is useful to determine if there is a level of risk or not.

The results from this project will be evaluated against other contaminated forest nurseries.

Our Role:

The Geological Survey of Sweden engaged Golder to carry out a site-specific environmental (soil and aquatic ecosystem, wildlife, livestock) and health risk assessment in accordance with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s risk assessment guidance at the Kårehogen site. The assessment used the TRIAD method (ISO 19204:2017(E)) to assess the site-specific risks of the soil ecosystem. The use of the TRIAD method as a tool for prioritizing remediation among contaminated former plant nurseries was also evaluated.

The TRIAD is based on the chemistry, (eco)toxicology and ecology lines of evidence (LOE). The purpose is to assess if there is a link between the concentration and toxicity of the contaminant and ecological outcomes.

To investigate whether the soil ecosystem in Kårehogen was negatively affected by DDT, Golder compared on-site results to a reference area. The results for the various LOEs including the results of statistical analyses were evaluated through a qualitative method (cause-effect analysis) and a quantitative method (risk index calculations).

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

Markus Kappling (markus_kappling@golder.se)

Rock Armour Used to Defeat Coastal Erosion | Roadstone

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Project Title:

Rock Armour Used to Defeat Coastal Erosion | Roadstone

Location:

Lahinch, Co Clare

Client: 

Clare County Council

Business Sectors: 

Environment

Services (Technical Disciplines):

To help meet the total requirement Roadstone provided limestone rock armour from its quarries in Bunratty and Roadstone Ryans in Ennis.

Rocks with weights ranging from 2 – 10 tonne were extracted from both quarries.

Production blasts were designed specifically to maximise the yield of larger armour rock.

The result: A storm defence that protects the surrounding area from extreme weather events and further coastal erosion.

Takeaways:

Pre-planning is key to ensuring a yield of suitable armour rock.

Scheduling in advance is important to ensure that stocks of rock are ready for collection.

Our Role:

Following an increase in coastal erosion along the Promenade in Lahinch an enhancement project was required to reduce the impact of extreme weather on the surrounding area.

In order to do so an additional 30,000 tonne of rock armour would be required along the sea wall.

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

Dermot McCarty (dmccarty@roadstone.ie)

Adaptive Management of Barriers in European Rivers -EU | Compass Informatics

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Project Title:

Adaptive Management of Barriers in European Rivers -EU | Compass Informatics

Date:

05/2020 – 07/2020

Location:

European Union

Client: 

Marine Institute

Business Sectors: 

Water Resources/ Environment

Services (Technical Disciplines):

Our team provided geospatial analysis services to provide insights on a variety of themes impacting the conservation of Atlantic Salmon in the EU. Using Python programming and ArcGIS, the team merged 21 river networks from estuary to sub basin level to assess European river connectivity. An SQL database was developed to consolidate data regarding the extant and historical salmon population using rod catch reports from 2000-2019.

Areas of the network were attributed to identify areas with geographically proximate qualities, ecological quality scores, dendritic connectivity indices and the location of main river barriers.

Water temperature was attributed using previous Global monthly levels (1981-2014) and modelled projections for 2020-2080, these large raster datasets where processed and amalgamated with the closest river sections, creating Climate Change forecasts for individual river networks.

Project Objectives/ Outcomes: 

Much of Europe depends on water from rivers for drinking, food production, and the generation of hydropower, which is essential for meeting the EU renewable energy target. Infrastructure for agriculture and energy production such as barriers and weirs can fragment habitats and block migratory species. Only half the EU surface waters have met the WFD’s 2015 target of good ecological status. Some barriers are old and out of use, but may hold historical value. European rivers need to take the complexity and trade-offs imposed by barriers into account to inform future decisions. From 2016 to 2020 AMBERs set out to apply adaptive management to the operation of barriers in European rivers. To achieve a more effective and efficient restoration of stream connectivity.

Our Role:

Our role involved providing expert geospatial analysis services through the analysis, amalgamation and aggregation of complex EU hydrological data. With the data consolidated and visualized cartographically, ecologists can effectively and efficiently identify opportunities to restore stream connectivity, improve water quality and promote biodiversity.

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

Gearóid O’Riain/ goriain@compassinformatics.com

Mbarara Water and Sanitation Project (Design) | Nicholas O’Dwyer

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Project Title:

Mbarara Water and Sanitation Project (Design) | Nicholas O’Dwyer

Location:

Uganda

Client: 

National Water and Sewerage Corporation

Business Sectors: 

Water Resources/ Environment

Services (Technical Disciplines):

  • Feasibility
  • Preliminary Design
  • Detailed Design
  • Tender Dosiers

Project Objectives/ Outcomes: 

The project involves the detailed design, preparation of tender documents, procurement and construction supervision for works to the existing water and sanitation infrastructure in Mbarara in western Uganda. The project is being delivered in two stages; Stage 1 is Detailed Design and Stage 2 is construction supervision.

In terms of Stage 1 the scope of the Detailed Design includes the following works;

  • Rehabilitation of the existing Water Treatment Plants at Kabale road in Mbarara (capacity of about 5,000 m³/day),
  • Rehabilitation of Ruharo intake and WTP (existing capacity of about 8,000 m³/day) and extension with a new line of 8,000 m³/day,
  • Rehabilitation (including NRW reduction through implementation of DMA), intensification and extension of the distribution system in Mbarara service area,
  • Detailed design of approximately 20km of trunk and distribution mains ranging in size from DN150 to DN300.
  • Upgrade and rehabilitation of approximately 10km of sewer networks within 3 catchments including 1 Nr. Pumping station.
  • Detailed design for upgrades and rehabilitation to existing waste stabilisation ponds in the catchments of Katete, Kakoba and Kizungu.
  • Detailed design for new faecal sludge treatment centre and associated effluent treatment.

Nicholas O’Dwyer carried out all civil, structural, process, mechanical and electrical designs for the water and sanitation infrastructure. An ESIA and RAP study was also carried out for the project. Procurement of the works contracts will be through FIDIC Red conditions of Contract. Nicholas O’Dwyer will provide the key experts for the management and supervision of the works which have an estimated value of $35m.

Our Role:

  • Review and update of Preliminary Designs
  • Detailed Design of Water and Wastewater Improvement Works
  • Preparation of Tender Documents (FIDIC)
  • Assistance during the Procurement Stage
  • Assistance in preparation of ESIA and RAP

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

Michel Davitt – mdavitt@nodwyer.com

GIS WebTech – Property Search & Demographics | Compass Informatics

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Project Title:

GIS WebTech – Property Search & Demographics | Compass Informatics

Date:

03/2017 – Present

Location:

United States

Client: 

GIS WebTech

Business Sectors: 

Infrastructure/ Environment

Services (Technical Disciplines):

Compass Informatics developed a web map that enables users to search for commercial properties within a specified geographic/administrative area with particular attributes. The user can browse properties either in a map view or a list view.

The system uses ESRI map data and pulls demographic data for the specified region using ESRI JS API 4 and hosted with MS Azure.

Project Objectives/ Outcomes: 

The tool enables communities to promote commercial properties to prospective tenants. When deciding on a commercial location, organisations may want to consider multiple factors, such as proximity a port, airport, university or affordable housing. GIS WebTech enables users to quickly search and view properties by criteria and make better decisions faster. It also enables communities to promote aspects of their portfolio that may not be well publicized.

Our Role:

Our team was responsible for the end to end development of the platform from initial requirements gathering, solution architecture, UX and testing and deployment.

Geoscience Ireland Contact:

Gearoid O’Riain (goriain@compassinformatics.com)

Detailed Design and Construction Supervision of Water and Sewerage Networks in the towns of Chingola, Chililabombwe and Mufulira | Nicholas O’Dwyer

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Project Title

Detailed Design and Construction Supervision of Water and Sewerage Networks in the towns of Chingola, Chililabombwe and Mufulira | Nicholas O’Dwyer

Location

Zambia

Client

Mulonga Water and Sewerage Company Ltd.

Business Sectors

Water Resources/Environment

Services (Technical Disciplines)
  • Preliminary Design
  • Detailed Design
  • Tender Dossiers
  • Procurement
  • Construction Supervision
  • Construction Management

Project Outcomes/Objectives

Detailed Design and Construction Supervision of Water and Sewerage Networks in the towns of Chingola, Chililabombwe and Mufulira within Zambia’s Copperbelt Province. The project will ultimately serve an estimated population of about 1.1m inhabitants. The services were executed in two phases:

Phase 1: updating existing outline designs; carry out detailed designs for the agreed technical options and obtaining necessary permits; providing detailed cost estimates; preparing the technical content of the Bidding Documents for the selection of a 3 no. works Contractors for the Rehabilitation and Expansion of the Water and Sewer Networks; preparing 3 no. FIDIC Red Book Contract Documents and supporting the evaluation of the technical aspects of bids. The detailed design includes 67km of bulk water pipelines, 133km of water reticulation network, 87km of sewerage network, 6 no. pump stations and 22 no. reservoirs.

Phase 2: Construction supervision of the above.

Our Role
  • Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)
  • Surveys (Topographic and Geotechnical)
  • Detailed designs of water networks and sewer networks
  • Preparation of Tender Dossiers (to EIB Standards)
  • Procurement of Works Contractors
  • Contracts Management and Site Supervision
  • Implementation of Safeguards
Geoscience Ireland Contact

Michel Davitt (mdavitt@nodwyer.com)

World Wide Fund for Nature – WWF | Compass Informatics

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Project Title

World Wide Fund for Nature – WWF | Compass Informatics

Date

02/2020 – 03/2020

Location

London, UK

Client

World Wide Fund for Nature – WWF UK

Business Sectors

Infrastructure/Environment

Services (Technical Disciplines)

The WWF provided Compass with coordinates of up to 2000 linear projects with start and end points across the world. Compass was also provided with a rasterised elevation model and existing infrastructure sourced from OSM.

Compass Informatics first cleaned and attributed the data whilst discussing the possible business rules and costings with the client team. Using ArcPy and ArcGIS, Compass was able to apply linear referencing to the data and was able to model the routes the projects were likely to take. This model provides flexibility to accept different datasets, accommodate different suitability criteria, work with weighted criteria and define land use types. The analysis of the model was be divided into 4 stages:

  • Stage1: Data Collection, Collation and criteria evaluation,
  • Stage2: Reclassification,
  • Stage3: Implementing the multi-criteria analysis
  • Stage4: Route Selection and Evaluation

To assess the possible environmental impacts Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) can incorporate spatial data and stakeholders’ preferences into quantified values for assessment (Malczewski 2004)[1]. A powerful component of a GIS decision support system is its ability to visualise the context of a problem and its alternative solutions (Gomes and Lins 2002). Therefore, the integration of a GIS decision support system and MCDA model can provide a method to evaluate several alternatives, based on multiple classified criteria.

[1] Malczewski, Jacek. (2004). GIS-based Land-use Suitability Analysis: A Critical Overview. Progress in Planning. 62. 3-65. 10.1016/j.progress.2003.09.002.

Project Outcomes/Objectives

Our team ran two training sessions with the WWF’s conservation intelligence team to hand over the model and run through how to deploy is Arc GIS analyst. The model is now used by WWF team across the globe to assess possible environmental risks from BRI projects and lobby the appropriate local authorities.

Our Role

Our role was to clean, consolidate and analyse a dataset of over 2000 BRI projects. We plotted the likely linear route of each project using costing for a variety of variable just as land use, topography and existing infrastructure. New data and new costings can be applied to the model and our team ran training sessions with client stakeholders so the model could be used by WWF staff and contractors

Geoscience Ireland Contact

Gearóid O’Riain (goriain@compassinformatics.com)

Cliffs of Moher Geohazard Assessment | Arup

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Project Title

Cliffs of Moher Geohazard Assessment | Arup

Date

2019/2020

Location

Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare

Client

Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre & Clare County Council

Services (Technical Disciplines)

Arup undertook a geohazard identification and risk assessment of the 200m high cliffs at the Cliffs of Moher, at the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark.

Following on from a series of visual inspections and field mapping, a baseline 3D digital model comprised of over 37 million data points was developed using a combination of remote data capture from drone, geophysical and topographical surveys and subsequently interpreted to undertake a rockmass assessment along the cliff top and face. You can view the drone footage here.

  • Geotechnics
  • Geology & Rock Mechanics
  • Geohazards and risk management
  • Digital- 3D modelling

UAV & Topo Survey – Murphy Surveys

Geophysical Survey  – Apex Geophysics

Project Outcomes/Objectives

This digital baseline model can be updated through ongoing monitoring along with feeding into any design considerations at the Cliffs.

Further applications of the model and this important dataset, include the measurement and monitoring of the potential impacts of climate change from increased storm events at the Cliffs along with providing a visual aid for tourists to the Visitor Centre.

Our Role
  • Geotechnics
  • Geology
  • Geohazards and risk management
  • Digital- 3D modelling
Geoscience Ireland Contact

Marie Fleming (marie.fleming@arup.com )

Lusaka Sanitation | Nicholas O’Dwyer

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Project Title

Lusaka Sanitation | Nicholas O’Dwyer

Location

Lusaka, Zambia

Client

Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company Limited

Business Sectors

Water & Environment

Services (Technical Disciplines)

  • Construction Supervision
  • Construction Management

Project Objectives/Outcomes

The Lusaka Sanitation Program aimed to increase access to sustainable sanitation services to Lusaka’s residents especially the urban poor and strengthen Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company’s (LWSC) capacity to manage sanitation services.

The program aims to address one of Zambia’s most binding constraints to economic growth through infrastructure investment in Lusaka, the rapidly urbanizing capital.

There were 3 components to this project:

1) CSE-08: Collection System Expansion Emmasdale and Chaisa, Ngwerere Sewershed – Construction of 18 km of gravity sewers of diameter 160 to 500mm.

2) CSE-23: Collection System Expansion Kafue Road, Manchinchi Sewershed – Construction of 10 km of sewers of diameter 160 to 500 mm and 3 No. pump stations and provision of access to sanitation to 132 No. commercial enterprises.

3) CSU-05: Upgrade of Ngwerere West Interceptor, Ngwerere Sewershed – Construction of 4 km of sewer interceptor of varying diameter.

Our Role

  • Design Review
  • Redesign of sewer system
  • Contract Management
  • Construction Supervision
  • Finanical Management and Claims Management
  • Quality Control
  • Environmental and Social Monitoring
  • Defects Liability Monitoring
  • Review of Operation and Maintenance Manuals
  • Review of As-built Drawings

Geoscience Ireland Contact

Michel Davitt – mdavitt@nodwyer.com

River Dodder Weir Survey | Murphy Surveys

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Project Title

River Dodder Weir Survey

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