Aim and scope
This document is intended to evaluate the risks and document processes for mitigating them, monitoring and reporting any issues. The scope of this plan only covers relevant and likely risks within the project and doesn’t consider any external, unavoidable or non-impactful risks.
Project description
Two structures on the side of Tamesis Dock are being used to hold ~40 conifers that were discarded over Christmas due to low demand at the time of the Omicron variant outbreak. The trees are fastened with rope and are not planted and the aim of the project is to monitor them to understand their adaptability and the effects of the slight variance of the environment to their survival. We also want to see how the local environment will coexist with them, whether local flora and fauna will use the new habitat provided by the conifers.
As cuttings the conifers are not planted and are similar to cut flowers, they are damaged and may break up, rot or succumb to disease over time. We will regularly monitor them, intervention will be minimal and restricted to preventing reproduction and hence proliferation of INNS (pruning flowers and or uprooting) and ensuring that the trees do not break free from the structure.
Water
Salinity: the water is essentially freshwater with very mild salinity, being well inland from the mouth of the river. Salinity becomes more brackish about a 2 miles downstream.
Fast moving and frequent tidal currents make the immediate area fairly unsuitable for aquatic life to establish.
The trees are partially submerged in the water for ~4 hrs/tidal cycle.
Man-made structures
The boat itself, including the hull and structure used to secure the trees. The boat rests on the foreshore at low tide and floats at high tide so that the hull and half of the structure with the conifers are submerged. The hull and structure are made from steel, the structure which has been in place for several years is partially cladded with old hardwood (land facing side only) and the trees are tied in with 28 mm manilla rope.
Piles next to the boat holding it in place, these are metal and are static: exposed at low tide and mostly submerged at high tide.
There is no antifouling compound applied to these structures so the risk that INNS may attach themselves and form a habitat could be higher, although the location and periods out of the water makes it a more challenging environment for life to establish.
Visual checks were made to the boat before installation and nothing other than what appeared to be lichen were found. No INNS were observed in on the site.
Marine fouling is a common issue with marine structures. Some of the measures to mitigate this include jet/steam/hot water wash, other mechanical methods of removal and the application of antifouling paints. Between 2008 to 2016, Nithin Rai has been observing growth of macroorganisms on the on the outer steel hull of Tamesis, the Embankment walls of Tamesis, the tunnel running under the Embankment opposite Tamesis and the inlet dock. Later comparative observations on the bank wall and hull of the Battersea Barge. Unlike the Battersea Barge, where hull fouling occurs, including neighbouring vessels, there has been no observation of biofouling that has established either on the modified walkway or accessible parts of the hull. Reasons why the level of fouling on this vessel is minimal could be that:
- It only experiences slack water at high tide for less than 1 hour per tidal cycle. Compare this with BB which is only 1 km upstream but because of it’s more sheltered location the water is slow moving for 4 hours per tidal cycle.
- The hull form was designed as a vessel as opposed to a rectangular pontoon and therefore optimised for laminar flow. Even the walkway, which disrupted this flow did not appear to have any localised impact on fouling the hull over a 10 year period. However, the wooden cladding did have lichen type growth on it, indicating that the material substrata made a difference.
- Being located in central London, it’s not that close to any natural riverside habitats. The closest would be a small area near Battersea Park, 3 km away.
- It occupies a relatively small footprint for habitation. With each structure having an approximate dimension of 5m x 0.5m x 1m (tapering to 0.1m), the overall volume of space available for habitation is under 2.5㎥. Assuming a 1000 cumecs of water flow in this section of the Thames, the dimensional impact, based on a volume ratio is 1:3000.
It seems that the theoretical risk of settlement is very low based on the examination of more historical artificial structures that are within the vicinity. Like most environmental systems, knowledge is limited. Understanding the prevalence of INNS in waterbodies along with other organisms is an essential part of understanding the river habitat and in developing long-term sustainable solutions. The installation could be viewed as a trap for INNS, in the same way that it captures litter with measures applied to limit propagation.
Immediate environment
The local environment is an unsheltered stretch of tidal river with a significantly elevated bed under the vessel, composed of gravel and rocks as well as some discarded objects such as man-made clay pipes, chalk and bricks. There is a narrow channel between the boat and the embankment and a tunnel leading underneath the embankment, that is mostly filled with the gravel from the riverbed.
Location
Between Lambeth and Vauxhall bridges on the south of the river moored alongside Albert Embankment.
Nearby ports and structures
- RNLI station by Lambeth bridge
- Lambeth Pier
- Westminster Boating Base
- Nine Elms pier and moorings
- TFL pontoons at the London Eye pier, Embankment pier, St. George Wharf, Westminster and Millbank (nr. Tate Britain) Millennium Piers.
Nearby natural habitats
- Wetlands centre
- Victoria tower gardens
- Battersea Park
- Chelsea creek
- Imperial Park
- Bell lane creek
- Wandsworth park
- Hurlingham club
- Bishops Park
- Greenwich peninsula ecology park
- Thames barrier park
- Thamesmead
- Rainham Marshes
Known INNS in the area
- Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)
- Asiatic clam (Corbicula fluminea)
- Quagga mussel (Dreissena bugensis)
Biosecurity officer
Nithin Rai; appointed Jan 2022
Contact info: nithin@octoply.co.uk, +44 7782 502140.
Relevant experience and qualifications
BSc Microbiology including modules in ecology and epidemiology (1993). PhD within the Division of Infection and Immunity, University of Glasgow, which involved handling bacterial toxins and pathogens (2000). Director of a marine based business on the Thames since 2004. PhD co-supervisor on the feasibility of shipboard algal bioreactors, University College London, which included the design and installation of an algal bioreactor to an anaerobic digestion unit based at Camley Street Natural Park, London (2014). Biological Weapons Inspector with the United Nations Special Commission in Baghdad, Iraq, which included site inspections, sampling and remote monitoring (1996).
Concerns: Lacking familiarity with current environmental regulations and those species of interest. Time availability through managing multiple responsibilities. Majority of field activity undertaken over 10 years ago.
Recommendations: Nithin is experienced in applying scientific methodology and the deployment of business models in developing more sustainable strategies through the application of biological systems within the marine and energy sector. He will familiarise himself with those named NNS until a replacement is appointed.
Review process: check all involved are still on board with this plan. There are no changes in the environment or concerns.
Biosecurity log: Form at the end of this document. Logs new details to a spreadsheet.
This biosecurity plan explores the activities undertaken to install and monitor the installation of conifers into a structure on the side of the Tamesis Dock. There are various forms and tables which log the form submissions allowing staff to monitor and report on their activities. Taking into account any feedback or other information. As this format may be used for many risk assessment and management tasks it is meant to be scalable and applicable to many different projects.
We are developing a software platform called Robin’s Hood that Fraser Embrey is the lead designer and product manager for Robin’s Hood. The software is meant to collate and analyse information from many sources including biosecurity logs and represent this information in a format that would allow staff to more easily collaborate and understand all the ongoing activities. Robin’s Hood enables communication and coordinating events and jobs.
Monitors
Nithin Rai (Biosecurity officer).
Monitoring process
While the boat and foreshore underneath are exposed at low tide the installation will be checked visually from afar and by climbing onto the side of the boat to see more Signs of disease or damage to the trees, the presence of any foreign plants or animals, and the condition of the structure and rope securing the trees will all be checked. The findings will be logged into the form/table at the end of this document.
Mitigating risks arising from monitoring activities
When checking the installation staff will wear clothes that have not been worn near any agriculture or forestry sites or where material from INNS could come into contact with them. They will be careful to avoid picking up any contaminants from the installation.
Evaluating this plan
The plan will be regularly evaluated, it will be hard to measure its success due to the small scale of the project. One key measure is the regularity with which information is being logged and any policy decisions directly arising from it. Any concerns or feedback will be welcomed and there is a form for logging that feedback which will be used to update this document.
Contacts
Name; contact/account access | Role | Comments |
Nithin Rai | Biosecurity manager | |
UK body for non-native species | ||
Environment Agency; +44(0)3708 506 506; enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk | ||
irecord; nithin@octoply.co.uk | This website is operated by the Biological Records Centre (BRC) as part of the work of the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH). | BRC, established in 1964, is a national focus in the UK for terrestrial and freshwater species recording. BRC works closely with the voluntary recording community, principally through support of National Recording Schemes and Societies (as listed on the BRC website). BRC is supported by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and UKCEH (through National Capability funding via Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)).
UKCEH is an independent, not-for-profit research institute and is a registered Charity in England & Wales (number 1185618) and in Scotland (number SC049849), and a registered Company Limited by Guarantee in England & Wales (number 11314957). UKCEH is strategically funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation. |
GIGL - | Greenspace Information for Greater London CIC (GiGL) is the capital’s environmental records centre. | We mobilise, curate and share data that underpin our knowledge of London’s natural environment. We enable our stakeholders to make informed decisions in policy and practice. |
