An innovative sustainable drainage system (SuDS) is providing natural flood protection and increasing biodiversity in Derringham, Hull. Hit by major floods in 2007, we constructed six new aqua greens that temporarily store excess water during heavy rainfall. Once exceedance of the drainage network has subsided, the water slowly flows back to the network via a new gravity-fed return sewer.

Replicating this storage using traditional infrastructure would have resulted in significantly higher embedded carbon, been unachievable within the constrained site, and required a mechanical and electrical installation with its ongoing maintenance and running costs.

Creating multiple aqua greens across two packages enabled us to drive efficiencies. Standard details were developed including a 1200mm x 750mm standard manhole product that was safer and simpler to install than ‘off the shelf’ solutions.

During phase one, we observed the aqua greens retaining water before the geosynthetic liner was installed. Subsequent permeability testing and groundwater monitoring showed the natural clay was less permeable than the proposed liner, removing the need for it entirely for phase two of the works. This saved two weeks on programme and 60 tonnes of carbon.

The scheme was delivered as part of the Living With Water partnership that aims to reduce flood risk while combining blue-green principles to deliver sustainable, low carbon solutions.

With European eel stocks at an all-time low, new regulations require water companies to upgrade assets to support their recovery. At Ovingham Raw Water Pumping Station on the River Tyne, we delivered our sixth eel screen installation for Northumbrian Water - protecting fish while maintaining vital raw water supply to nearby water treatment works.

Operational since 1971, the site’s existing screening bays could not be adapted to meet modern eel‑protection standards without major structural modification. This would have required an extended site shutdown, or the abandonment of the asset altogether. Instead, we developed a viable solution that reused much of the existing infrastructure. The design centred on the installation of four environmental fish exclusion (EFE) eel compliant screens, positioned within the river’s natural flushing flow.

The constrained site and technical complexity made early specialist involvement essential. We engaged a marine piling contractor to install 19 piles using a 500‑tonne crawler crane, with each track weighing 30 tonnes alone. Because the crane operated adjacent to the pumping station, we engaged with structural and geotechnical specialists within both MMB and the wider Mott MacDonald Group to verify that the crane pad and underlying ground could safely support the load.

Upon completion in 2026, our client will have a resilient, future‑proofed asset that complies with modern-day environmental legislation whilst maintaining an uninterrupted water supply.