Costain has won a contract with the Environment Agency (EA) to help keep rivers and waterways in the Midlands flowing.
The framework contract for the EA – the first of its type for Costain – covers a wide variety of services, from routine inspections and maintenance of waterways to providing fast-response teams to handle incidents and minor asset repairs.
The Midlands Main Rivers Maintenance Framework will cover the Midlands Central and the Midlands West locations including the areas of Birmingham, Warwick, Shrewsbury, Kidderminster, Hereford and Pershore.
“The contract fits nicely within the Costain Cares model,” said Anthony Watson, Water Sector Technical Director, who managed the successful bid and is responsible for the customer relationship.
The framework contract calls for Costain to have a team at the site of a problem within 90 minutes of receiving an instruction to assist. Personnel will be on 24-hour standby, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and it is anticipated there will be at least one out-of-hours call per week – more at times of severe weather. A particular aspect of the contract is response to flooding.
More regular activities will include the visual inspection of structures, defences and channels, with any debris or excess vegetation being cleared as required.
The four-year contract began this Summer.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
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