Levee Setbacks and Floodplains
Medmerry Managed Realignment Scheme Selsey, West Sussex, England, United Kingdom
The Medmerry Managed Realignment Scheme (plan) in West Sussex was constructed by Team Van Oord and the Environment Agency of England (EA). The project came about through a combination of a need to improve flood risk management to West Sussex communities, and a requirement of the EA’s Regional Habitat Creation Program to create intertidal habitat. The scheme is comprised of the largest realignment, or restoration, of open coast in the United Kingdom. New flood banks were built from approximately 500,000 cubic yards of clay obtained from on-site borrow pits. The augmented borrow pits then contributed to the intertidal habitat area, which is revealed at low tide. The project, which was completed in 2013, provides a one-in-one-hundred-year standard of defense— representing an increase from a one-in-one-year standard prior to implementation—to 348 properties. The project has won several awards, including the Environmental Excellence Award for Dredging for Coastal Reinforcement in 2016; the World Dredging Association Conference’s Coastal Resilience Environmental Award in 2016; The Prime Minister’s Better Public Building Award, and the Civil Engineering Project of the Year, both received as part of the 2014 British Construction Industry Awards.
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