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The only weir gates in the North East Thames area are being refurbished.
The Environment Agency has begun refurbishment work on the only lock gates it owns in Hertfordshire, Ware Lock.
It used a 24 tonne crane to lift two 5 tonne lock gates out of the Lee Navigation in Ware. Ware Lock is the start of the Lee Flood Relief Channel and is a weir and siphon flood defence structure, operated by the Environment Agency.
The work was planned after a team of divers were commissioned to go underwater to look at and assess the condition of the gates. The divers concluded that the gates needed to be 'resheeted', this is a process which involves stripping the gates back to the frame and installing new timber planking. This should prevent the gates from leaking and help maintain the water levels in the Lee Navigation.
This work will take approximately 5 weeks in total and should increase the life of the gates by 15 years. The gates have never been removed from the lock since installation in 1986 and the last time they were refurbished was in 1997 which was done on site.
This is the first phase of a two part project, the second phase will come next year when the two smaller gates head gates upstream will be removed and refurbished.
Angus Richardson, from the Environment Agency said: "This is a mammoth project to execute, the lock gates are huge and together weigh almost 10 tonnes, so they really are a sight to behold outside of the Lee Navigation. The project is being carried out almost entirely in house, with our carpenters over in Osney actually doing the refurbishment work by hand.
“We have had to break the project down into two phases to make sure it is done safely and with minimal impact to river users. Whilst the lock is closed we will be undertaking repairs to the landing stages and we will also be landscaping the area around the lock after vandals burned down the hedges.".
The Environment Agency has begun refurbishment work on the only lock gates it owns in Hertfordshire, Ware Lock.
It used a 24 tonne crane to lift two 5 tonne lock gates out of the Lee Navigation in Ware. Ware Lock is the start of the Lee Flood Relief Channel and is a weir and siphon flood defence structure, operated by the Environment Agency.
The work was planned after a team of divers were commissioned to go underwater to look at and assess the condition of the gates. The divers concluded that the gates needed to be 'resheeted', this is a process which involves stripping the gates back to the frame and installing new timber planking. This should prevent the gates from leaking and help maintain the water levels in the Lee Navigation.
This work will take approximately 5 weeks in total and should increase the life of the gates by 15 years. The gates have never been removed from the lock since installation in 1986 and the last time they were refurbished was in 1997 which was done on site.
This is the first phase of a two part project, the second phase will come next year when the two smaller gates head gates upstream will be removed and refurbished.
Angus Richardson, from the Environment Agency said: "This is a mammoth project to execute, the lock gates are huge and together weigh almost 10 tonnes, so they really are a sight to behold outside of the Lee Navigation. The project is being carried out almost entirely in house, with our carpenters over in Osney actually doing the refurbishment work by hand.
“We have had to break the project down into two phases to make sure it is done safely and with minimal impact to river users. Whilst the lock is closed we will be undertaking repairs to the landing stages and we will also be landscaping the area around the lock after vandals burned down the hedges.".