Hisham NuhuFlood and disaster risk

Work · London

Pumping station refurbishment for eel compliance (three stations)

Support project manager on an Environment Agency refurbishment that brings three flood-risk pumping stations into line with the Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009.

RoleSupport project manager
Period2023–25
Valueest. US$1.5m
Supported 2023–25

ContextWhy it mattered

The European eel is critically endangered, with numbers down about 90% since the 1970s. Pumping stations can draw migrating adult eels into the pumps. Since 1 January 2015, the Eels Regulations have required eel screens on structures able to abstract at least 20 m³ a day, or that return water to a channel or the sea (reg. 17). The Environment Agency can also require eel passes where structures impede passage (reg. 14). Older flood-risk pumping stations may therefore need refurbishing to protect eels while keeping their drainage function.

Partners: Environment Agency asset management and operations teams (internal)

My roleWhat I did

Support project manager

  • Supported the project manager in delivering an eel-compliance refurbishment of three Environment Agency pumping stations.
  • Provided hydrological and hydraulic advice on flows to inform the refurbishment.
  • Investigated options to improve operability and extend asset life.
  • Helped set up the project: detailed the scope and planned the scheme, then delegated and tracked tasks.
  • Ran quarterly finance and audit checks on the project budget.

Project cycleHow the project moved, stage by stage

Who led each stage, and what it produced. Filled steps were mine; outlined steps were led by others.

My role (5 of 6 stages) Context: led by the council, partners or the Environment Agency, not my actions

  1. 1NeedEA-led

    Regulatory duty (Eels Regulations) and asset condition, within the Environment Agency asset programme.

    Result A compliance and refurbishment need at three stations.

    ADB: Project identification · World Bank: Identification

  2. 2EvidenceMy role

    Provided hydrological and hydraulic advice on flows for the refurbishment.

    Result Flow evidence to inform the design.

    ADB: Technical due diligence · World Bank: Technical assessment during preparation

  3. 3OptionsMy role

    Investigated options to improve operability and extend asset life.

    Result Options for a longer-lived, more operable asset.

    ADB: Feasibility; alternatives · World Bank: Analysis of alternatives (ESS1)

  4. 4Scope and planMy role

    Detailed the specialist scope, planned the scheme and helped set up the project.

    Result A scoped, planned project.

    ADB: Implementation plan (PAM) · World Bank: Project Operations Manual / implementation plan

  5. 5Delivery managementMy role

    Supported the project manager, delegating and tracking tasks.

    Result Tasks allocated and tracked.

    ADB: Project management unit (PMU) · World Bank: Project implementation unit (PIU)

  6. 6Finance and auditMy role

    Ran quarterly finance and audit checks.

    Result An audit-ready project budget.

    ADB: Financial management; disbursement plan · World Bank: Financial management; interim financial reports

PeopleWho it affects, and how results were shared

Who it affects

  • Communities whose flood protection depends on the pumped drainage (not named)
  • Migrating European eels, a critically endangered species

How people were involved

  • Internal Environment Agency project, with no public engagement recorded.

What changes for them

  • Refurbished stations keep draining low-lying land while protecting eels, so residents keep their standard of protection. project aim

Public evidenceEuropean eel numbers have fallen about 90% since the 1970s, and pumping stations can draw migrating eels into the pumps. Source: Process Engineering: Fish-friendly pump stations help save a threatened species; Envirotec: Redeeming pumping stations for eels (2020).

MethodsMethods and tools

  • Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009: screening (reg. 17) and passage (reg. 14)
  • Hydrological and hydraulic flow assessment
  • Scope detailing and scheme planning
  • Task delegation and tracking
  • Quarterly finance and audit

OutcomeWhat happened

Supported through 2023–25 at an estimated value of US$1.5m. Station names and operational details are withheld.

What eel compliance means at a pumping stationPumping station(generic)Eel screenregulation 17Eel passregulation 14Eel- and fish-friendly pumpthree ways to complyEach station must keep its flood-risk function: draining low-lying landGeneric schematic: not any of the three stations.
What eel compliance means at a pumping station. Schematic based on public sources (see Sources); not to scale.

In numbersFrom an EU recovery plan to a refurbished pumping station

  1. 1970s→European eel numbers begin a decline of about 90%
  2. 2007Council Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007: measures for the recovery of the European eel stock
  3. 15 Jan 2010Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009 come into force
  4. 1 Jan 2015Eel screens become mandatory on qualifying diversion structures (reg. 17(4))
  5. 2023–25Support project manager: eel-compliance refurbishment of three Environment Agency pumping stations (est. US$1.5m)
Public figures; final row from my record. Regulation drives the need. The refurbishment delivers compliance without losing flood function.

Legislation.gov.uk (reg. 1, reg. 17, explanatory note); Process Engineering (decline). The final row is from my record.

SkillsSkills gained

  • Programme and project managementProject set-up, scoping, scheme planning and task delegation on an internal capital project.
  • Policy and regulationBuilding a species-protection duty into flood-asset refurbishment.
  • HydrologyFlow advice to inform the refurbishment design of operating assets.
  • Procurement and contractsDetailing the specialist scope a refurbishment contract depends on.
  • Programme and project management
  • Policy and regulation
  • Hydrology
  • Procurement and contracts

TransferHow this applies internationally

ADB safeguards (ESF, effective 1 Jan 2026). Biodiversity protection designed into drainage-infrastructure rehabilitation. ADB’s new Environmental and Social Framework applies to projects with concept notes approved from 2026, and rehabilitation works need exactly this compliance thinking.

World Bank ESS6. Protecting “living natural resources” while keeping flood assets working. ESS6 (Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources) would apply where pumped drainage affects migratory fish.

World Bank (implementation support for rehabilitation). Support project management of an asset refurbishment. Where a flood project rehabilitates pumps or gates, the project implementation unit (PIU) needs scoping, planning and budget tracking for those packages.

ADB RRBI. Asset health within basin management. RRBI addresses “long-term threats to river basin health”. Fish and eel passage at drainage assets is part of that connectivity.

SourcesSources

  1. Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009, reg. 17 (eel screens)
  2. Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009, reg. 14 (eel passes)
  3. Envirotec: Redeeming pumping stations for eels (2020)
  4. Process Engineering: Fish-friendly pump stations help save a threatened species
  5. ADB Environmental and Social Framework (effective 1 Jan 2026)
  6. World Bank Environmental and Social Framework
  7. Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009, reg. 1 (commencement)
  8. Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009, explanatory note (implements Council Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007)

Value est. US$1.5m: project value. The estimate is mine.