Land, Hydrographical & Measured Building Survey
Hobhole Bank Pumping Station, Boston, Lincolnshire
Hydrographic survey at hobhole bank pumping station

Multi-service survey aiding the design of new pumping station

Owned by Witham Fourth District Internal Drainage Board, Hobhole Bank Pumping Station in Boston Lincolnshire opened in 1957. Its purpose is to protect the area’s low lying land from flood risk by pumping flood water out to the tidal River Haven. A team of five surveyors from our Nottingham office battled the winter elements to complete a multi-service surveying project including land, measured building surveys and hydrographical surveys of the Pumping Station and surrounding area to assist with the design of a prospective new pumping station when Hobhole Bank is eventually decommissioned.

With an area measuring 600m2 along the coastal side of the river; 2km of tidal channel which included mudbanks and steep and often densely vegetated channel sides; as well as the pumping station building itself, the project presented a number of challenges that needed to be carefully considered and planned, not least, taking into consideration tidal patterns when it came to measuring the seaward side of the site.

Whilst much of the land surrounding the pumping station could be measured by a traditional topographical survey approach using Total Stations and GPS instruments, the tidal mudbanks, which were inaccessible, required a slightly different approach. To measure these our team used the reflector-less capability of the Total Stations, which essentially involved taking measurement readings via laser remotely from the other side of the bank. This technology was also applied to measure the seaward side of the site when the tides were out and the mudbanks were exposed.

A hydrographical survey was required to measure the same end of the site where the channel flows from the station to the River Haven. By rowing a boat fitted with an echosounder across the channel our surveyors were able to capture the depths and profile of the channel’s bed.

To measure the concrete base at the screened inflow of the pumping station our team rowed out and extended a 5m pole down that could be pushed through the sediment to record the levels of the concrete below.

The data from all the surveys conducted over four days, including the internal measurements of the pumping station, was loaded into our modelling programme n4ce, to produce a single survey model. Once this was double checked for accuracy, the model was exported to CAD to provide the client with a 3D CAD model of the entire site.

Discover more about Survey Solutions’ hydrographical services.

Total stations collecting data at Hobhole Bank Pumping Station
“We’ve have been very satisfied with the services provided by Survey Solutions at Hobhole Bank. The surveying team were very professional, organised and competent, delivering quality output that we can use for the scheme design at a price that more than met with our expectations. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.”
Alan Bavey, Principal Engineer Stantec

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