Engineers working in Glasgow have turned to dam building techniques during the latest phase of a multi-million pound project to help improve the environment and water quality in the River Kelvin.

Scottish Water’s alliance partner amey Black and Veatch (aBV) have constructed a temporary dam-like structure to allow engineers to work safely at the River Kelvin near to the Old Flint Mill on the River Kelvin Walkway while they stabilise the river bank and construct new waste water infrastructure.

Speaking about the novel solution which engineers adopt when working near to watercourses, Paul Milligan, aBV Communication Manager explained that it creates much safer working conditions:

“Our site team has been faced with heavy rainfall over the past few months and the high river level has made working conditions pretty challenging. By creating a false embankment, the dam helps divert the water away from the river bank and means that the engineers can go about their work and keep the river flowing.”

The £15 million environmental project in the west end of involves the installation of new and improved waste water infrastructure at 11 separate locations along the River Kelvin.

This new infrastructure will help prevent items which are wrongly flushed down the toilet – items like rags, baby wipes, plastic cotton buds, etc. - from overflowing into the River Kelvin during severe storm events and reduce the frequency and volume of waste water spillages in storm conditions.