Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0    Relevant Background Information

           At its meeting on 10th November 2011, Committee agreed to the establishment of an inspection process in line with current best practice for all appropriate water retaining structures.

           Northern Ireland is currently in the process of developing a Reservoirs Bill similar to the Reservoirs (Scotland) Act 2011.The Bill will have its First Stage / Introduction on 20^th January 2014, when a copy of the Bill will be made public and is expected to become an Act in 2015.

           Under the terms of current Rivers Agency classification, Belfast City Council have five Reservoirs that require Inspection and they are:

·               Waterworks Upper Pond

·               Waterworks Lower Pond

·               Alexandra Park

·               Boodles Dam, Ligoniel Park

·               Half Moon Lake, Suffolk Road

           The current ‘best practice’ is the Reservoirs Act 1975 and council commissioned Section 10 Reports for each of the above structures. These reports were carried out by URS Infrastructure and Environment Ltd.

2.0      Key Issues

           The reports make a series of recommendations for each site. Some of these are maintenance issues e.g. cutting grass, tree pruning and general clearance which are carried out as part of everyday duties.

           The most significant recommendation however relates to Boodles Dam, were it is recommended that this impoundment be abandoned because of the nature of the ground above it. In 1996 Doran Consulting produced a report on ground movement within Ligoniel Country Park.  Remedial work was undertaken at that time which included reducing the water stored in the impoundment and the installation of deep seated drainage throughout the park.  Doran Consulting monitor the park on an annual basis and it remains relatively stable.  However given the history and the nature of the ground above the impoundment it is now proposed that it be abandoned and the area landscaped.  A proposal and costing will be presented to Committee in due course.

           In addition the Act places a responsibility on Reservoir owners to carry out monthly and six monthly inspections. The Supervising Engineer is to carry out 6 monthly inspections until the remedial works in have been completed. The other inspections can be incorporated alongside existing inspections by Council staff.

           Further, Inspections must be carried out by the Supervising Engineer once a year and a Panel Engineer every ten years. The dates for these repeat inspections by the Panel Engineer are set in the various reports and vary from June 2021 to April 2023.

3.0      Resource Implications

           Finance

           At present there is only one Panel Engineer in Northern Ireland (see explanation below), URS. Therefore Council will use URS for any further annual and 10 yearly inspections. At current rates, each of these inspections is £3000 per inspection per site.

            Human Resources

           Staff from the Landscape Planning and Development Unit within the Parks and Leisure Department will be required to engage and liaise with URS during the procurement and execution of the works.

4.0      Recommendations

           Members are asked to give authority to the Director of Parks and Leisure to proceed with works and associated expenditure to implement the various recommendations in the Reservoir Reports.”

            After discussion, during which the Director outlined the extent of the consultation which would be undertaken with local residents as part of the process, the Committee adopted the recommendation.