Until recently, Environment Agency staff had to regularly visit flood defence structures to make sure they were operating correctly.
One site requiring frequent visits was Loe Pool near Porthleven where debris including tree branches occasionally get trapped in a flood defence screen after being washed from Loe Pool.
Loe Pool is Cornwall’s largest freshwater lake. Situated close to the Lizard Peninsula within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), its remote location makes connection to mains electricity prohibitively expensive.
Agency engineers have solved the site’s energy supply problem by installing a solar panel beside the flood defence structure. Electricity from the panel powers various pieces of equipment including a flow gauge, water level gauge and webcam making it possible to monitor the screen remotely 24 hours a day.
Data and information from the site is relayed to the Agency’s office in Bodmin by telemetry via a system similar to that used by a mobile phone. The telemetry is also powered by the site’s environmentally-friendly solar panel.
‘It scores on health and safety because our staff no longer have to carry out as many visits to this potentially hazardous site. This means we can reduce our mileage and carbon footprint and check remotely whether the screen needs clearing,’ said Roger Bailey for the Environment Agency.
The solar panel has proved so successful similar equipment has been installed at a number of sites across Cornwall as part of the Environment Agency’s sustainable energy programme.
Other low-carbon schemes being used by the Agency include the installation of 60ft wind turbines at two of its depots and a rainwater harvesting system at its Pennygillam Depot near Launceston making the site almost self-sufficient in water. Staff in Cornwall have also been trialling a fleet of biofuel vehicles.
One of the latest technological breakthroughs is the use of highly-efficient ‘Hydrogen fuel cells’ to power telemetry and monitoring equipment including fish counters and gauges at remote locations such as Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor where other sources of power are unavailable.
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north-east of Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. The Berson UV systems disinfect effluent prior to its discharge into the Desna River. 
