river Cleanliness Index
survey results report
26th November 2014
River Cleanliness Index 26th November 2014 – Survey Results Report
Executive Summary 3
Introduction 5
Survey Summary Conditions 6
Results and Discussion 7
Type of Debris 10
Hotspots 10
Summary 12
Executive Summary
A River Cleanliness Index survey was conducted on 26 November 2014.
The survey began at around 10:00am and took around 5 hours to complete. The vessel used was the Clearwater. The survey followed the methodology and procedures documented in the Clean Tyne Cleanliness Index Survey Handbook.
The results obtained were fed into an Excel spreadsheet which uses the recorded observation scores and weighting factors to grade each of the zones either A, B, C, D or E. Grade A being the cleanest and Grade E being the poorest with respect to debris and cleanliness. The charts below summarise the breakdown of grades in November 2014 and the equivalent zone grades from the surveys in September 2014, July 2014, February 2014 and November 2013.
The summary tables above show that in November the majority of the zones were graded A or B, 52.8% and 36.8% respectively, 8.5% were graded C, 0.9% were graded D and none were rated Grade E. 0.9% were not surveyed during this assessment.
Introduction
The River Cleanliness Index has been developed and implemented to provide:
· Benchmark - A benchmark of the situation before the launch of the new debris collection vessels.
· Performance Indicator - Performance indicator figures to evaluate the success of the River Clean-Up Project.
· Hotspots - Identification of hotspots, where relatively large amounts of debris collect, so that debris collection efforts can be directed effectively.
The Index covers the tidal range of the River Tyne, from the Piers (South Shields and North Shields) to the Boundary Stone at Wylam, a distance of approximately 30km or 19miles (60km or 38 miles when considering each side of the river).
The Index survey has been conducted in compliance with the instructions and procedures published in the Survey Handbook.
This Survey Results Report contains the following sections:
· Executive Summary – provides a brief summary of the Index survey, including the processes involved, overview of the results and conclusions.
· Results – highlights the main results of the survey, including the most common types of debris, breakdown of zone grades and a rundown of the hotspots.
· Survey Summary Conditions – documents the meteorological conditions, tide information and surveyor details, as well as timings.
· Conclusions – offers a number of observations, summary conclusions and recommendations.
The full results of the survey are saved as an Excel spreadsheet, which is available from the Port’s Environment Officer, James Wright (0191 455 2671) or .
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River Cleanliness Index 26th November 2014 – Survey Results Report
Survey Summary Conditions
Physical ConditionsDate / 26 November 2014
Time Started / 10:00
Time Finished / 15:30
High tide times / 05:33
High tide height / 5.06 metres
Low tide times / 11:48
Low tide height / 1.15 metres
Weather conditions / Rainy
Wind direction / -
Wind speed / Breezy
Surveyors
Lead Surveyor / N. Smith
Secondary Surveyor / J. Maddison
Vessel / Clearwater
Vessel Crew / S. Proud and D. Houshby
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River Cleanliness Index 26th November 2014 – Survey Results Report
Results and Discussion
The results have been processed using the Excel spreadsheet – Index Results.xls, following the procedures outlined in the Survey Handbook. The results are split into 3 sections:
· Zone Grades – reports the number of each zone grade, which ranges from A to E.
· Types of Debris – break downs the debris problem into the most common types of debris.
· Hotspots – identifies hotspots and highlights specific locations of problematic debris.
Zone Grades
Table 1 shows all of the zone grades. Grade A represents zones that demonstrate the cleanest areas, while grade E represents the least clean zones. From the results it is clear to observe that the cleanliness of the River Tyne has improved significantly but in certain zones the levels are being brought down by man-made debris making its way into the river. No zones received a Grade E rating. The ultimate aim of the clean-up project is to improve and maintain the cleanliness of the River Tyne’s banks, so that each zone is grade A.
River zones and grades November 2014
Grades / Frequency / Percent / North / SouthA / 56 / 52.8 / 28 / 28
B / 39 / 36.8 / 21 / 18
C / 9 / 8.5 / 3 / 6
D / 1 / 0.9 / 0 / 1
E / 0 / 0.0 / 0 / 0
Not Surveyed / 1 / 0.9 / 0 / 1
Total / 106 / 100.0 / 52 / 54
The analysis and processing of results, allowed the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of each zone. These can be compared to the results of previous surveys zones to highlight hot spots and areas for improvement.
Table 1
Code / Zone Name / Grade / Code / Zone Name / GradeN001 / North Pier / A / S001 / South Pier / A
N002 / Black Middens / A / S002 / Sandhaven Beach / A
N003 / Cliffords Fort / A / S003 / South Shields Sailing Club / A
N004 / Fish Quays / A / S004 / The Lawe / A
N005 / The Scarp / A / S005 / South Tyneside College / A
N006 / Bairds Dock / A / S006 / Panash Point / A
N007 / Royal Quays / A / S007 / Mill Dam / A
N008 / International Ferry Terminal / A / S008 / Aker McNulty / B
N009 / Simon Storage / A / S009 / Tyne Dock Entrance / A
N010 / Northumberland Dock / A / S010 / Riverside Quay / A
N011 / Howdon Jetty / A / S011 / Jarrow Slake / A
N012 / Howdon Yard / B / S012 / RMC Jarrow / B
N013 / Cookson Minerals / A / S013 / Tyne Tunnel South / A
N014 / Willington Quay East / A / S014 / Rohm & Haas / A
N015 / AMEC Process & Energy / A / S015 / Police Marine Unit / B
N016 / Vehicle Store / B / S016 / Jarrow Staith / A
N017 / Graham Builders / A / S017 / Bede Quay / A
N018 / Swan Hunters / C / S018 / A&P Hebburn / B
N019 / A&P Tyne Wallsend / B / S019 / Hebburn Marina / C
N020 / Lower Walker / A / S020 / Hebburn Riverside Park / A
N021 / Wincomblee / A / S021 / Pelaw Main North / A
N022 / Newcastle Offshore Park / A / S022 / Pelaw Main South / C
N023 / Bill Point / B / S023 / Bill Quay / B
N024 / St.Anthony's Point / B / S024 / Heworth Shore / C
N025 / Walker Riverside East / B / S025 / Felling Shore / A
N026 / Walker Riverside West / A / S026 / Friars Goose East / B
N027 / St.Peters Basin / B / S027 / Friars Goose West / B
N028 / Naval Reserves / B / S028 / Kittiwake Tower / A
N029 / Spillers Quay / B / S029 / Redland Aggregates / A
N030 / Ouseburn West / B / S030 / South Shore Road / A
N031 / Newcastle Quayside / B / S031 / Baltic Quayside / B
N032 / Swing Bridge / A / S032 / Pipewellgate / D
N033 / Redheugh Bridge / B / S033 / Redheugh Bridge South / B
N034 / Elswick Wharf / A / S034 / Staithes South Bank / B
N035 / Tyneside House / B / S035 / Dunston Staithes / C
N036 / Newcastle Business Park / A / S036 / Dunston Riverside / B
N037 / Elswick / B / S037 / Pyeroys / A
N038 / Paradise / B / S038 / Dunston West Junction / A
N039 / Vicars East / C / S039 / Costco / A
N040 / Vicars West / B / S040 / Metrocentre East / B
N041 / Scotswood Bridge / C / S041 / Metrocentre West / A
N042 / B&Q / B / S042 / Blaydon Haugh Marina / C
N043 / Lemington Gut Boat Club / B / S043 / Scotswood Bridge / A
N044 / Newburn Business Park East / A / S044 / Western Bypass / B
N045 / Newburn Business Park Central / B / S045 / Blaydon Haugh East / B
N046 / Newburn Business Park West / A / S046 / Blaydon Haugh West / C
N047 / Stella North / A / S047 / Blaydon Station / B
N048 / Cromwell East / B / S048 / West Blaydon / A
N049 / Cromwell West / B / S049 / Stella South East / A
N050 / Newburn Bridge / A / S050 / Stella South West / B
N051 / Tyne Rowing Club / A / S051 / Ryton Haugh / B
N052 / Tyneside River Country Park / A / S052 / Newburn Bridge South / B
S053 / Ryton Willows East / A
S054 / Ryton Willows West / NS
Type of Debris
The table below also identifies the most common types of debris:
Most common Type of Debris1 / Wood 48.0%
2 / Plastic/polystyrene/rubber 34.7%
3 / Metal 11.9%
4 / Misc 3.5%
The chart below (Chart 1) breaks down the categories of debris, as recorded during the survey:
Chart 1 - Categories of debris
Hotspots
Hotspots (areas where relatively large amounts of debris collect) were classified during the survey. The identification of hotspots will allow more efficient deployment of the debris collection vessel.
The survey allows the identification of the location of specific problematic ‘man-made’ debris, which could be improved through focused vessel debris collection and/or steps to reduce the dumping of waste.
Plastic/Glass Bottles
NO16 – Vehicle Store
NO19 – A&P Tyne Wallsend
NO29 – Spillers Quay
NO31 – Newcastle Quayside
NO39 – Vickers East
NO43 – Lemington Gut
SO19 – Hebburn Marina
SO22 – Pelaw Main South
SO31 - Baltic Quayside
Plastic Containers
NO16 – Vehicle Store
NO36 – Newcastle Business Park
NO37 – Elswick
NO39 – Vickers East
NO43 – Lemington Gut Boat Club
SO08 – Aker McNulty
SO12 – RMC Jarrow
SO19 – Hebburn Marina
SO22 – Pelaw Main South
SO24 – Heworth Shore
SO28 – Kittiwake Tower
SO31 – Baltic Quayside
SO32 – Pipewell Gate
SO44 – Western Bypass
Tyres
NO23 – Bill Point
NO24 – St. Anthony’s Point
NO25 – Walker Riverside East
NO28 – Naval Reserves
SO45 – Blaydon Haugh
Industrial Timber
SO52 – Newburn Bridge South
Plastic Sheeting
NO21 –Wincomblee
SO24 – Heworth Shore
Along with ‘man-made’ debris natural wood received high counts in a number of areas which are highlighted below:
Small Natural Wood
NO16 – Vehicle Store
NO18 – Swan Hunters
NO19 – A&P Tyne Wallsend
NO29 – Spillers Quay
NO30 – Ouseburn West
NO31 – Newcastle Quayside
NO35 – Tyneside House
NO38 – Paradise
NO39 – Vickers East
NO40 – Vickers West
NO41 – Scotswood Bridge
NO43 – Lemington Gut Boat Club
SO18 – A&P Hebburn
SO22 – Pelaw Main South
SO27 – Friars Goose West
SO31 – Baltic Quayside
SO32 – Pipewell Gate
SO33 – Redheugh Bridge South
SO34 – Staithes South Bank
SO35 – Dunston Staithes
SO42 – Blaydon Haugh Marina
Summary
There has been a decrease in the number of zones scoring Grade A from the previous survey, from 81% to 53%. The majority of the zones surveyed scored a Grade A or Grade B. There were 9 zones that scored a Grade C and 1 zone with a Grade D. The most common type of debris during this survey included plastic bottles, plastic containers and small natural wood.
While surveying the north banks a seal was spotted in SO 38 (Dunston West Junction) on the bank of the river. Also a number of rats were noticed in NO 25 (Walker Riverside East) and NO 26 (Walker Riverside West).
NOTE:
A life ring was sighted on the day of the survey in sector SO 21.
It is acknowledged that the survey only provides a snapshot of the cleanliness on that particular day. It is believed the meteorological, tidal and vessel movements could all influence debris levels. However it is still intended to repeat the survey on a quarterly basis in order to build up comprehensive picture patterns of River’s debris deposition and cleanliness.
Acknowledgements
Many thanks to the following personnel who assisted with the survey:
· Port Marine Services personnel for piloting the boat.
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