Weymouth & Portland Borough Council is carrying out studies looking at how rising sea levels and tide changes may affect Weymouth over the next 100 years.
The coastal processes study across Weymouth Bay will provide reliable and consistent data to underpin the development of future flood defence schemes.
Civil engineers Jackson Hyder, working with contractor Geotechnics Limited, will start ground investigations around Weymouth Harbour, Weymouth Esplanade and Weymouth town centre on Monday 22 September 2014.
The work, which is programmed to take approximately six weeks, will involve drilling 21 boreholes 10-13 metres deep and installation of ground water monitoring instruments. It is anticipated each borehole will take two to three days to complete, depending on ground and weather conditions.
The council’s consultants and contractors aim to minimise disruption, but as the work will involve drilling some noise will be unavoidable.
Some of the borehole locations may also be on or close to the road and temporary traffic management may be required for both pedestrians and vehicles.
Residents and businesses likely to be affected will be sent letters about the work.
The £300,000 study is funded by the Environment Agency.
Cllr Ian Roebuck, Brief Holder for Environment and Sustainability, said: “These works are extremely important in identifying what strategies need to be put in place to ensure Weymouth can deal with rising sea levels.
“This is the next step is understanding the geology and relationship between groundwater and tide levels, and is part of a major study to guide our plans to develop comprehensive sea defences in the future.
“I would like to thank residents and businesses for their cooperation and apologise for any inconvenience caused during the work.”
The normal working hours for the works are weekdays between 8am and 6pm.
