VIEWPOINT
FINDING SOLUTIONS TO ROAD RUNOFF POLLUTION
George Woollard, technical director at Keyline Civils Specialist
WITH MONTHS OF record rainfall in 2024, and, according to the Met Office, more likely to follow, the urgency to address road runoff pollution is only increasing. Heavy rainfall creates a severe flush of chemicals and debris from roads; these pollutants are pushed into waterways through the drainage network, leading to the death of wildlife and causing immense damage to ecosystems. 18% of water body failures in England are currently attributed to this pollution.
In the construction and civil engineering industry, we can make a difference – and civils merchants have a huge part to play, as the bridge between manufacturers and contractors, in finding solutions.
Early supply chain involvement
Solutions for road runoff exist; namely in the form of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), whether nature-based, hard-engineered, or both. But there can be complexities in a project that make implementing an existing solution difficult – in these circumstances, something new and innovative must be found. However, the further down the line you get, the harder it is to find new solutions. Any change to a finalised design has to fit into the constraints of the original; adding costs and complexity to the proposed solution. Collaboration at the start of a project avoids the challenges involved with identifying issues later and creating a make-shift solution. A second pair of eyes during design and specification can help make projects far more efficient, and add immense value for contractors.
Manufacturers have the knowledge and capacity to help, but are rarely engaged
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by designers and specifiers – opening up these communication channels is the challenge we face. Designers of SuDS may not realise the resources they have available to them, but suppliers and manufacturers can provide valuable input into the design process, and may be able to create an entirely new solution that fits the project conditions.
Facilitating innovation As a civils merchant delivering products and project solutions since 1988, we understand the challenges contractors and manufacturers face, and the logistics involved in developing a new product. We can play a vital role in facilitating innovation – helping projects become more efficient, and helping the industry tackle critical issues like road runoff. At Keyline, we can offer technical expertise to identify issues and opportunities to innovate – and fully understand the process of developing a new product and can engage with manufacturers to support development – taking the weight of doing so off the shoulders of contractors. In this way, civils merchants can provide invaluable support to projects.
Manufacturers are willing and able to help. In a roundtable discussing road runoff pollution, we invited several leading manufacturers alongside industry figures, government representatives and academics. When it came to discussing potential solutions, there was a sense that more could be done if communication improved. Mark Shearer, business
development director at Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation, was clear on the potential for manufacturer involvement: “Whatever problem you want to solve; as a manufacturer, we’ve got R&D departments, we’ve got innovation teams that can work on that. We can make it, just where do you want us to aim?”
Collaboration Road runoff pollution is the perfect example of a widespread problem with far-reaching impact that demands collaboration to solve. Our industry has a tendency to work in silos – though this is beginning to change, more can be done to engage with the supply chain.
Without collaboration, solving issues on the scale of road runoff pollution is impossible. As Mark
Henly, assistant design engineer at Wavin suggested during the roundtable, the way projects operate needs to change: “A lot of projects we get are already designed, and we’re tendering for them. The change needs to come from the very top.”
At present, manufacturers are often kept in the dark about project challenges until long after the design is finalised. Civils and builders merchants can play an instrumental role in opening up communication channels. For road runoff, the need to work together goes beyond just the industry. Defra has encouraged collaboration and the promotion of innovation, urging government departments and the Environment Agency to work closer with professional and trade bodies to promote better understanding of best practice in surface water management. Working with academics, water companies and government departments can make finding a solution to road runoff far easier. It’s a complex problem; as an industry, we are still developing our understanding of how best to treat it on the scale required – our best chance to get ahead of the issue is to work together. Collaboration with designers and engineers, environmental experts, local authorities; by working together at the start of a project, the best possible solution to road runoff pollution – whether existing or the result of innovation – can be more readily found. BMJ
• To find out more about road runoff pollution and how the construction and civil engineering industry can help, read the full whitepaper at:
whitepaperkeyline.co.uk
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net November 2024
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