Water-borne transport makes the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games a truly “green games”

30 March 2007

Executive Summary

• Water freight:
  has the potential to supply in excess of 1.75 million tonnes of material directly to the construction site of the Olympic park and in good time. The development phase which will begin in July will generate large volumes of construction materials. The Olympic Development Authority (ODA)/CLM Consortium are committed to moving at least 50% of the construction materials by rail and water.
• Will remove around 140,000 lorry journeys from London’s congested road network throughout the development phase and over 12,500 lorry journeys each year thereafter;
• Will reduce the environmental impact of freight transport and help deliver a “green” Games. Using water could reduce CO2 by up to 4,000 tonnes during the development phase and by 440-tonnes a year thereafter.
• British Waterways recently announced the construction of a brand new 62m x 8m tidal lock that will be constructed at the southern end of the Prescott Channel. While twin-water control gates will be built in the Three Mills Wall River. This development will hold the rivers at half tide and allow barges of up to 350-tonne capacity to deliver up to a maximum of 7,000 tonnes of construction materials per day. The investment is estimated to be £18.9 million but the cost of transporting materials by water is as little as a third of that if they are transported by road.

This paper sets out the reasons to use water to service the development, operational and legacy phases of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics in East London.

Background

Construction of the 2012 Olympic Park will begin this summer adjacent to, and in the vicinity of, a network of disused waterways known as the Bow Back Rivers, Waterworks River, the Lee Navigation (canal) and the River Lea which are connected to the River Thames via Bow Creek. This network provides a valuable opportunity to move spoil, building material, waste and other cargoes by water direct to and from the Olympic construction site.

Moving freight by sustainable modes is in line with government policy and the London Plan and will assist London with its stated aim of delivering a “green” and sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The potential for water-freight at the Olympic and Paralympic Games

The Olympic site and its waterways

Up to the 1950s the waterways surrounding the Olympic Park were the primary transport infrastructure and as a consequence there are fewer roads that are heavily congested in that part of London. While they have been disused for several decades the existing waterway infrastructure is in working order with no restrictions on loading/unloading. Barges would travel from the River Thames some 2 km along Bow Creek to the Bow Locks, the journey would continue through the Prescott Channel and a further 2 km to the Olympic site.

Over 50% of all aggregates sold in London arrive by water and are unloaded onto wharves on the River Thames. It makes commercial and environmental sense to ship the materials via these rivers as they provide the quickest and most economical route for onward movement by barge direct to the site. The water route is also the only mode which currently has spare capacity.

Tidal river system

Currently the river system is tidal from Bow Creek through to Lea Bridge Weir, via the Prescott Channel and Waterworks River. This restricts the times that the river is available for safe navigation (approximately a 4-hour tidal period) and consequently the amount of material which can be moved by barge. Currently the water courses can facilitate barges of up to 120-tonnes via the River Thames using the Bow Locks, the River Lea and the existing waterways. This would be sufficient to allow a significant proportion of the material required to be supplied.

Making the Waterworks River into a Canal

To overcome this restriction within the Bow Back Rivers British Waterways has announced that it will turn the Prescott Channel into a stable-water course. Several funding partners are providing the £18.9 million investment including:

• British Waterways
• the ODA
• London Thames Gateway Development Corporation
• Department for Transport (Freight Facilities Grant)
• Transport for London.

Construction of the new lock has begun and is being managed by British Waterways and undertaken by design and build contractors Volker Stevin Ltd. There is a supporting team that includes Tony Gee and Partners LLP, Bennett Associates, Clague Architects and Weetwood Environmental Engineering. The development will be completed by summer 2008 and includes allowing for a truncated-planning process.
It will maintain the water levels in the river to half tide and allow laden barges up to a maximum capacity of 350-tonnes to be moved around the Olympic site 24-hours a day. It would also allow more material to be delivered to the site at peak times. The logistics will require two laden barges carrying up to a maximum of 700 tonnes of materials to be pulled by a tug through the waterway effectively removing 70-lorry trips from local roads resulting in a saving of 5-700 round lorry trips a day.

Environmental impact

The new lock is part of a Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs’ recommendation for the sustainable restoration of the waterways in the Lower Lea Valley. The recommendation was developed by British Waterways, the Environment Agency and Natural England, together with a broad range of stakeholders, and promotes a green and accessible corridor along the waterways, with a series of towpaths, cycleways, wildlife habitats and restored waterways alongside new sustainable developments.

Development phase

Planning permission for the site was submitted by the ODA in January and the site will be handed over to the CLM Consortium in the summer enabling them to begin construction.

Estimates predict that during the development phase of the Olympic site over 5 million tonnes of construction materials and waste will need to be transported. If moved by lorry it would require 500,000 trips to move the materials. It is envisaged that the main construction materials will be aggregates and steel. These are normally delivered by boat to wharves around Greenwich (aggregates) and Barking (steel).

The Games

Once built, there will be a continuing need for water to move the thousands of tonnes of materials required to operate the Games and remove the rubbish and recyclable materials.

The Legacy phase

When the Games are finished the Legacy phase will extend to 2020 and there will be further development which will also require thousands of tonnes of bulk commodities such as the removal and disposal of block pavers and other cargoes to be moved to and from the site. Early estimates indicate that this will be in the order or 125,000 tonnes – or 12,500 lorry journeys – each year.

Advantages of using the river to service the Olympic site

• Water-borne freight will ensure that sufficient quantities of material arrive directly on site and in good time. The development phase which will begin in July will generate large volumes of construction materials. The ODA/CLM Consortium are committed to moving at least 50% of the construction materials by rail and water.
• Freight carried by water could remove around 140,000 lorry journeys from London’s congested road network throughout the development phase and over 12,500 lorry journeys each year thereafter.
• Water used as a mode of transport will reduce the environmental impact of freight transport on roads and help to deliver a “green” Games. Using water could reduce CO2 by up to 16,000 tonnes during the build phase and by 440-tonnes a year thereafter.
• Initial, but admittedly broad, estimates suggest that delivery by barge could realistically be cheaper than by road.
• The stability of the tidal river caused by the installation of the new lock will visually improve the waterway running through the heart of the Olympic park. Otherwise, at most states of the tide, the river would be an unsightly and unpleasant feature.
• The investment may be used for further carriage of freight during the Olympics themselves. Many thousands of tonnes of commodities will enter the site.
• The investment would also create a waterway capable of being used for freight and leisure purposes during the Legacy phase (up to 2020) of the Olympic and Paralympic Games progresses.
• The use of water-freight in such a high profile project would assist with the furtherance of coastal, inland-shipping industry throughout the UK.

What needs to be done?

There is an urgent need for the key decision makers, including government, to coordinate their efforts to ensure that the aspirations to move freight by water freight are achieved.

The conditions that are vital for water-transport to play its full part in this project are:

1. The use of water as a key mode of transport must be government policy to give the water-freight industry the confidence and the assurance it needs to invest and develop strategies to deliver effective services.

2. The necessary infrastructure such as concrete-batching facilities for the construction materials must be located close to the waterways on the Olympic site to minimise road haulage on the site and the financial and environmental costs associated therein.

3. A full logistics plan for the Olympic Games must be developed to ensure that water-freight transport is included.

4. The companies awarded the Olympic delivery contracts must be compelled to use water transport in their supply chains.

5. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) must ensure that there is a team leader responsible for water-freight transport to ensure that the mode is equally represented in policy making.

Conclusion

The Bow Back River system was used to move freight for centuries but in recent years they have fallen into disuse. With firm commitment from government and industry these rivers will, once again, move significant quantities of freight to deliver a sustainable transport solution to service the 2012 Olympic site and the Legacy phase that will follow.

Water transport is sustainable and available with ample capacity to serve the Olympic site as a major element of the overall transport solution. It is Sea and Water’s view that it is the viable option and the new Prescott Lock will enhance the development for the benefit of business, society and the environment.

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*Department for Transport Statistics Report: Maritime Statistics 2005

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