Work is underway on the largest ever coastal investigation project in Wales.

The Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW) Capital Delivery Alliance, comprising Mott MacDonald Bentley and joint ventures between Morgan Sindall/Arup and Skanska/Arcadis, is investing £8 million in scientific investigations around the Welsh coastline.

Covering over 2,700km of coastline, work will be carried out at 49 sites to provide the company and Natural Resources Wales with further information to help better understand how to protect Wales' coastal waters.

Features of the programme include field surveys, water quality monitoring and mathematical modelling.

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In addition, water consultants Intertek have been appointed to lead the modelling and compliance components, including a specialist survey team led by APEM including CREH and Fugro.

Mott MacDonald Bentley's Mark Dives, project manager of the Capital Delivery Alliance, said: "This project will make use of a number of innovative techniques, such as state-of-the-art modelling and microbial tracers, simulating coastal dynamics and pollutant transport, as well as the most advanced coastal survey technology ever seen.

"The sheer scale of the task in hand – to gather a huge amount of historic data to feed the study and drive a substantial survey programme to gather new data – in the time available will provide a big challenge to the Capital Delivery Alliance.

"However we are confident in our abilities and expertise to undertake the project safely, efficiently and to achieve sustainable outcomes for the benefit of both DCWW customers and the environment."

The project is due to be completed in early 2017.

(LM)