Provian Construction, one of Kent’s leading main contractors, have built a 650 metre wall at the Queen Mary Reservoir to protect houses in the Surrey village of Charlton that were at risk of flooding.

Finished in just eight weeks, at a cost of around £200K, the wall was needed as the wave height within the reservoir would increase following the imminent removal of the central wave breaking structure to allow continuation of gravel and sand extraction.


After consultation with reservoir owners Thames Water, Brett Aggregates employed Provian Construction to raise the wall on the eastern edge.

Using approximately 100m3 of concrete, Provian’s expert construction team removed the existing concrete wave wall, constructed a new section of reinforced concrete wall and then replaced the wave return section on top.

Because the reservoir access road had a weight limit of just 10 tonnes, Provian completed the works using a small 360 degree tracked excavator fitted with a swivel grab and all concrete was transported along the narrow bund in small dumpers. This removed the requirement for a complete new wave wall which in turn reduced the costs by approx 50%.

Designated as a Site of Nature Conservation Importance (SNCI) and located within the Metropolitan Green Belt, The Queen Mary Reservoir now has the wave protection it requires thanks to Provian.

(GK/LB)