Project pathway
The quickest route to the right decision.
Ordnance checks for watercourse works and renaturation
If a bank is to be relocated, a slope flattened or a structure demolished, the position and depth of the work must be established. FONTANA-EOD compares these ground interventions with existing ordnance documents. Together with your planners, we clarify survey needs and site conditions. Work on land, on banks and in water is considered separately.
Show the bank, slope and bed on the plan.
Compare existing conditions with the design.
Involve specialist planners and authorities.
Context
Identifying the actual ground interventions from the watercourse plan
For watercourse works, survey needs on land, banks and in water are clarified separately according to the planned interventions. Existing and proposed profiles, structural works and temporary areas are compared with existing ordnance documents. FONTANA-EOD coordinates the technical task and a genuinely suitable way of carrying it out with your planners before commissioning.
Investigation task
Check existing findings against new interventions
Define the planned work in the ground
An ecological development objective does not yet describe the volumes of soil or sediment to be treated. Proposed profiles, excavation areas, deepening and structural works are needed. Construction access routes or temporarily used bank areas may also involve additional ground interventions and must be shown in the works plan.
Selecting the method according to the soil and sediment intervention
Apply existing conclusions to the appropriate areas
The present watercourse may differ from earlier conditions. Existing and historical documents help identify former structures or terrain changes and compare them with other findings and the planned work. This alone neither establishes nor rules out explosive ordnance contamination. A Historical aerial photograph analysis may provide indications of earlier site conditions; the findings possible depend on the photographs available.
Assessing earlier site conditions using historical evidenceProject types
Bank profiles, the bed and temporary work areas
Bank reconstruction and new slopes
A new bank line or flattened slope changes the volume of ground affected by construction. Excavation limits, local deepening and working spaces are therefore shown alongside the finished profile. An earlier report about the old bank line cannot be assigned solely by the watercourse name. Its area and elevation references are compared with the planned reconstruction. The survey remains related to the task actually clarified and is not extended into a statement about neighbouring areas of water.
Coordinating bank profiles and excavation limitsStructures around the watercourse
Culverts, inlets, walls or revetments may have visible and concealed components. Foundations, excavations, shoring and the access required are described for demolition or replacement. The ordnance question is addressed separately from structural stability, ground conditions and potential pollutants. This information may all matter to planning, but it answers different questions. The survey scope is agreed according to the actual volumes of soil and sediment affected and the conditions achievable.
Clarifying survey tasks at the watercourse structureTemporary areas for construction
Construction roads, equipment positions and material storage areas sometimes lie outside the watercourse profile to be remodelled. If creating them requires excavation, foundations or utilities, these interventions are also specified. Subsequent reinstatement does not automatically make earlier earthworks unproblematic. Existing reports are therefore also compared with the temporary areas. Where conclusions have not been sufficiently clarified for an area, the outstanding need remains visible before it is actually used during construction.
Coordinating methods for temporary work areasPrepare the decision
Prepare the next work step technically
Planning the bank and bed together
The spatial design is broken down into separate technical tasks. A method suitable on land is not applied to water cover and sediment without checking. To define the scope, planned groundworks and their respective conditions are shown distinctly on the site plan. Excavation on land, a change to the bank profile and work on the bed may create different technical tasks. The design identifies the planned interventions and the necessary elevation or depth reference for each area. Existing results are related to these specific tasks. A bank survey is considered within its actual spatial extent. The further questions that can be answered are clarified according to the respective conditions. Services in the water require separate technical clarification and explicit agreement of their scope. The overall watercourse design thus remains divided into traceable individual tasks.
Water conditions change access
Expected conditions are reported and taken into account during execution. A changed time slot or an accessible area does not replace a technical check of whether surveying is possible. Access and water conditions expected at the intended time are described for operational preparation. If either changes, the specialist contractor receives the current information for renewed coordination. This establishes which areas are actually accessible and whether the agreed approach still suits the task. An area that cannot initially be treated remains marked as outstanding. The sequence of further tasks reflects this status and is coordinated with the planners and site management. For later work, the original results and their limitations remain in place. Early completion of one section is thus distinguished from a technical conclusion about the remaining areas.
An additional structure is to be demolished
Concealed foundations, working space and depth are added to the information. The additional structure is compared with the previous survey scope rather than simply assigned to the general renaturation objective. Planned work on the additional structure is described with current position and elevation references. This includes known components and outstanding questions about concealed structures. Where excavations, working spaces or further ground interventions are needed, they are assigned to the relevant task. The specialist contractor compares this information with the existing survey results and identifies any further need for clarification. If the demolition design changes, the revised version is passed on before the affected intervention. Survey boundaries and agreed services remain traceable. For work in or beside water, the respective conditions are considered separately. Technical assessment thus follows the work actually planned and its spatial extent.
Project-specific tasks
Planning the bank, watercourse bed and ancillary areas separately
01
Bank and slope reconstruction
Describe excavation areas, new slope geometry and local deepening. The final ground surface alone is insufficient if additional volumes of ground are affected during construction. Show existing and proposed profiles using the same elevation reference.
02
Bed and deepening near the watercourse
Work on the bed may involve different access and survey conditions from dry banks. Water level, sediment and accessibility are relevant constraints. Survey needs for the bed are clarified separately. A bank finding applies only to the survey area actually documented.
03
Structures and demolition areas
Culverts, inlets, old revetments or other structures may have foundations and concealed installations. Planned work on them is described with working space and depth. An ordnance assessment does not replace an assessment of structural stability or pollutants. Necessary surveys and protective measures are planned before ground interventions during demolition, vegetation clearance, surface removal or creation of access routes and work areas. Areas that become accessible later are surveyed before the respective subsequent interventions.
04
Access routes and work areas
Temporary construction roads, equipment areas and material storage may lie outside the watercourse profile itself. Where creating them requires ground interventions, these are considered as separate tasks. Survey needs for work areas to be removed later are also clarified before earthworks.
Project documents
These documents connect the instruction and result
Bringing position and elevation together
Profiles, the site plan and structural documents are provided within the same spatial framework. A single cross-section without a location is insufficient to define the task. Local deepening remains identifiable alongside general excavation. For each task, it is clear which section a profile concerns and which existing surface or reference level is shown. Local excavations or additional structural works are linked to the overview plan. Where designs change, previous and revised information remain distinguishable. The specialist contractor can then identify which questions an existing result already answers and where a fresh comparison is necessary. Unclear elevation information is clarified before defining the scope or identified as an outstanding prerequisite. The appendices used are retained with their plan versions for handover of results. Later changes can thus be related to the areas actually surveyed.
Describing survey conditions
Access, slopes, water conditions and known installations are assigned to the respective area. This information supports method selection. Whether services in the water can be performed, and to what extent, is technically clarified and explicitly agreed before commissioning on the basis of these conditions. For each area, the conditions assumed for the expressly agreed survey are also explained. Outstanding questions about access, existing structures or water conditions are raised during coordination. If a prerequisite changes, further execution is technically reassessed on that basis. The design records which task has already been agreed and which scope remains to be clarified. This also supports staged preparation of the work. Agreements concerning land areas are passed on with their actual boundaries.
Distinguishing land and water areas
The report shows which areas were actually treated and which methods were used. Unsurveyed areas remain identifiable. This distinction is retained in summary project documents so that a bank result is not read as a conclusion about the entire watercourse. The overview links individual report sections to their actual survey areas and the plan appendices used. For each area, the agreed approach and limitations encountered remain clear. Outstanding areas continue to be recorded with their location. After an additional survey, the previously outstanding issue it addresses is recorded. Planners and site management receive the current version together with the associated appendices. Where the bank line changes or an additional structure is involved, the new task is checked against these documented boundaries.
Construction phases
Keep construction phases and changes traceable
Profiles as a shared basis for work
Existing and proposed profiles are provided with an unambiguous elevation reference and a clear location on the overview plan. They show excavation, deepening and additional working spaces. Existing results are compared with these volumes of ground. If execution changes, the difference from the earlier profile is also shown. The survey thus remains linked to specific construction work rather than merely to the project's subsequent ecological or design objective.
A construction stage under changed conditions
Access, water level and work areas may change between planning and execution. These changes are reported before the respective specialist work. A check establishes whether the intended method can be used under the actual conditions and which conclusions remain achievable. A dry section and a water-covered area are not treated as equivalent. In particular, a specific scope of work in the water is assumed only where it has been explicitly clarified technically and agreed.
Documentation after a change to the watercourse
After reconstruction, old reference points or bank edges may no longer be directly visible. The survey report therefore needs traceable position and elevation references to the plan version at the time. Completion documents connect this information with the work actually performed. For later maintenance, this allows a check of whether a new intervention was already covered. Findings for individual bank sections are not extended to the entire bed, other structures or future changes.
Documentation
Assigning reports to the surveyed terrain profile
Assign the results to the project
After renaturation, bank lines and elevations may look different from those at the time of surveying. Reports therefore need an unambiguous spatial reference and the associated plan version. Only then can later readers identify which conclusion relates to which profile or construction stage.
Coordinate tasks and further works
The report separately identifies areas actually surveyed, unsurveyed areas and areas outside the commission. Particularly at the transition between work on land and in water, it must remain clear which conclusion applies to which area. Each conclusion remains tied to the documented area, depth and method used. Following actual exposure or clearance work, the associated findings and clearance records are included.
Next steps
Preparing the ordnance assessment within watercourse planning
Providing ground intervention profiles
Show banks, the bed, structures and temporary areas with existing and proposed elevations.
Providing reports and contacts
Compile existing surveys and authority documents; identify technical contacts. Information and survey reports are checked for plan version, spatial coverage and outstanding questions concerning the current construction task. Where historical questions remain open, suitable sources are researched and aerial photographs of the affected areas are assessed. The findings are spatially assigned to the present land, bank and other areas of ground intervention and incorporated into survey planning.
Coordinating access and surveying
Agree access, water conditions, limitations and the required survey scope before execution. The suitable method and the conclusions achievable are explicitly agreed for each individual area.
Carry out the investigation
The commissioned survey is carried out in the defined area using the explicitly agreed method. Measurement data, findings and limitations are recorded with position, depth and plan references.
Assess results
Measurement data and findings are assessed by specialists. Outstanding areas, necessary follow-up surveys and the next decision are identified for designers and site management.
Recording surveyed areas on the plan
Identify land, bank and water areas actually surveyed on the plan and mark areas still outstanding.
Technical assessment
Clarifying access, water level and installations in advance
Terrain and water conditions
Slopes, water cover, soft ground and changing access may determine method selection. A survey suitable for accessible land is not automatically suitable for water areas. Scope of services and suitable execution are specifically agreed before commissioning.
Installations and altered strata
Metal revetments, utilities, fill or former structures may affect measurement results. Information on existing conditions helps assess these constraints. Technical conclusions remain tied to the area actually surveyed and the methods used.
Clarifying water-law requirements
§ 68 WHG governs formal plan approval and plan authorisation for watercourse development. Requirements and the procedural route applicable to the specific project must be clarified with the competent authorities. Those authorities separately clarify water-law decisions and other relevant requirements.
Method selection
Select methods according to the task and survey conditions
Historical records and aerial photographs
Historical aerial photograph assessment and other old records help place the basis for suspicion in its spatial context. The available images, their evidential value and the limits of the area considered matter. The absence of an identifiable indication must be distinguished from a technically surveyed ground area. The assessment is considered together with the planned intervention and other available findings. It can support the choice of a survey, but is not a measurement of the present-day subsurface or confirmation for all future works.
Understand aerial photograph assessmentMagnetometric survey
Magnetometric methods detect magnetic anomalies. Whether they can address the specific survey task depends, among other things, on the expected objects, ground conditions, interference and required survey area. Fences, utilities or existing structures may affect interpretation. A measurement signal is therefore not described as ordnance solely because of its strength. Method, interpretation and any further investigation are planned as a connected specialist task.
Understand the scope of magnetometryElectromagnetic methods and TDEM
Electromagnetic surveys may be suitable for particular metallic targets and site conditions. TDEM detects the time-dependent electromagnetic responses of electrically conductive bodies. Suitability is justified for the particular task, not inferred merely from the availability of equipment. Interfering installations, accessible areas and the required conclusion must also be considered. Results are documented with location and survey conditions. Whether a complementary method is needed follows from the specialist assessment and remains a specific project decision.
Understand electromagnetic surveyingGround-penetrating radar
Under suitable conditions, ground-penetrating radar can provide information about subsurface structures and reflections. Ground conditions, moisture, installations and the particular survey task affect interpretability. An anomaly is not automatically ordnance, and an area with no apparent anomalies is not general evidence for arbitrary depths. The specialist interpretation and its limits are documented with the instruction. A survey for another purpose is not adopted without checking as ordnance evidence.
GPR and limitationsDeep-ground and downhole surveys
For deeper interventions, it may be necessary to check whether a surface survey can provide the required conclusion or whether another approach is needed. Location, depth, borehole layout and existing utilities then form part of preparation. Access for the survey must also be planned appropriately from a technical perspective. A general depth figure or standard grid does not replace this task. Results remain tied to the areas actually treated and the method applied. For surveys from investigation boreholes, casing, drilling depth and documentation are also coordinated with the task and local conditions.
Prepare deep interventionsSurvey during construction
If a necessary preliminary survey cannot be completed in full, the suitability of a technically planned approach during construction is assessed. Each working layer is technically surveyed and evaluated before controlled removal in layers with supplementary visual inspection follows. The steps are repeated to the agreed excavation formation. Excavation layers, stop signal, authority to give instructions, reporting channels and documentation are agreed with site management and specialists before work starts. Pure visual observation of the excavation cannot simply replace a necessary instrumental survey. Site management needs a clear description of when specialist works take place, how new findings are handled and which areas remain outstanding.
Agree the approach during constructionWorking approach
How FONTANA-EOD works
Document the agreed specialist service clearly
FONTANA-EOD relates the survey to a described intervention and a traceable set of records. Before work starts, the technical task, accessible areas and required results are agreed. If the design or local conditions change, it is checked whether the agreed scope still fits. The report records the work actually performed and its limits. Further construction planning can thus identify what conclusion is available and where additional clarification remains necessary.
Discuss the investigation taskThe task before the equipment
A survey begins with the required information objective. The method selected is technically justified in relation to it. A particular instrument or a similar neighbouring construction site is not, by itself, sufficient grounds for selecting a method.
Keep limitations visible
Inaccessible areas and limited conclusions are identified. They do not disappear into a total area figure. Designers and site management can then decide specifically which areas still need attention and when a suitable survey becomes possible.
Clarify changes before intervening in the ground
A new location, additional depth or different construction method is compared with previous results. A familiar project name does not replace this comparison. Feedback is provided before the affected work so that an outstanding question can be included in the sequence.
Hand over the report and plan together
The technical conclusion remains connected to its location references and appendices. A brief summary helps orientation but does not replace the documented survey scope. This basis is retained even if site management or contractors change.
Working together
Distinguish the tasks of client, designers and specialist contractor
Client and operator
The client describes the project and provides the available project records. The operator adds requirements for use, access and timing. A coordinating contact brings the parties together; individual tasks remain assigned to the named parties. Before commissioning, it is clearly recorded what information is missing, who will obtain it and what decision the result is intended to prepare.
Planning and construction management
The specialist designers describe areas, depths, construction methods and changes. Site management coordinates the planned sequence with the construction contractors and agreed specialist works. Results are assigned to the respective intervention. A technical plan change is communicated early enough for its effect on the survey task to be assessed before construction. Organisational construction stage boundaries remain distinguishable from technical survey boundaries.
Specialist company and competent bodies
The private ordnance specialist contractor carries out the agreed survey and documentation scope. Authority requirements and decisions are clarified with the respective competent bodies. The records needed for a particular procedure depend on the site and project. The technical report documents the specialist service performed, including its area, depth and service scope and the limits of its conclusions. Applicability to further groundworks is checked against the specific intervention. Administrative decisions are made by the competent authorities.
In Germany, the Länder ordnance disposal services and locally competent authorities perform hazard prevention and find-handling tasks. Their involvement and the tasks of the public order authority and, where applicable, building control are clarified for the project location. Outside Germany, local responsibilities apply. Contacts, conditions and reporting channels are assigned to the construction project concerned.
Requirements
Clarify technical requirements and responsibilities within the project
In Germany, § 7 SprengG concerns the commercial authorisation for activities requiring authorisation; § 20 SprengG concerns the certificate of competence of responsible persons. Under § 1b SprengG, searching for found munitions also counts as handling them. The requirements applicable to the project depend on the activity actually commissioned and the allocation of responsibilities.
The First Ordinance to the German Explosives Act (1. SprengV) regulates, among other matters, specialist knowledge and recognised courses. For soil and sediment interventions around watercourses, the necessary evidence of qualification relates to the specific relevant task assigned.
DGUV Information 201-027 supports risk assessment and protective measures in ordnance clearance. DGUV Rule 113-003 concerns dismantling or destroying explosives or corresponding articles, including disposing of found ammunition. It is taken into account within this field of activity; a risk assessment relating to the planned work remains necessary.
Relate requirements to the specialist task
For the commissioned activities, the relevant technical requirements and questions of permits, competence certification and responsibility are clarified. The actual planned service scope is decisive. A general company designation does not replace checking that the tasks and interfaces are described appropriately for the specific project.
Link occupational safety to the construction sequence
Risk assessment, work areas and communication must suit the proposed activities. Ordnance specialist works are coordinated with the other construction activities. Operational organisation, traffic safety and other specialist technical inspections retain their own responsible parties. Joint coordination brings the information together without equating the different tasks.
Use technical findings correctly
A measurement anomaly first requires specialist assessment; its depiction alone does not identify it as ordnance. If an object is suspicious, work in the affected area is stopped; the competent authorities determine further measures. Survey reports identify the scope treated and its limits so that results are not extended to unchecked areas or later plan changes. Necessary follow-up surveys or exposure works are assigned to the area concerned. Recovery of confirmed ordnance is coordinated with the permitted activities, local responsibilities and documentation.
Planning and documentation: BFR KMR: clearance planning, principles · BFR KMR: geophysics · BFR KMR: documentation · §68 WHG: formal plan approval and plan authorisation
The federal construction guidelines on ordnance clearance contain requirements for historical and technical investigation, clearance concepts, procurement and documentation within their defined area of federal responsibility. Their application to the specific watercourse project, together with local requirements and responsibilities, is clarified separately.
Project site
Connect the site with the specific construction task
Site and existing requirements
Specify the actual project site with a location plan and the affected plots. Available information, conditions and reports are assigned to this area. Applicable requirements, competent bodies and the actual survey status for the project location are clarified using local information and project records. The regional overview helps orientation, while the location plan and project records determine the technical task.
Understand the results
Use technical statements for the next decision
Read results together with their scope
A statement is understandable only with its investigation task. Check the area and depth described, methods used and restrictions. A report title or single result line is insufficient. For new work, these details are compared with the current plan to establish which knowledge remains usable and which question is unresolved.
Explore results and terminologyUse project terminology unambiguously
Document review, surveying, construction-phase specialist work and recovery are different tasks. An enquiry need not identify the correct method in advance. An accurate description of the intervention and required decision is more useful. This establishes the appropriate technical scope and prevents a general term from meaning different things in design, procurement and execution.
Understand the service scopeDocuments and execution
Consider records and surveying together
Assign records to their locations
For preparation, the location plan and available findings are considered together. Assessment of historical records addresses a different task from a technical survey of the present-day subsurface.
Explore the historical basis
Use results for construction planning
Survey scope, plan references and limitations are documented together. Site management can identify the specific conclusion available for the next intervention.
Understand documentation
Further technical topics
Find the appropriate specialist service and project arrangements
Compare municipal project types
Other municipal projects may include additional interventions and interfaces. The overview helps classify them without anticipating the survey of a specific site.
Understand municipal projectsSelect the specialist service according to the task
Document assessment, instrumental surveying, supervision during works and recovery are distinguished by their respective purposes. A technically justified selection connects the information sought with the actual conditions.
Compare servicesQuestions from planning
Frequently asked questions about watercourse works
Does a bank survey also cover the watercourse bed?
Not automatically. The spatial areas and survey conditions differ. The report must make clear what was actually surveyed. Additional survey needs for work beyond that scope are checked separately.
Does the commission include specialist work in the water?
Only where this has been explicitly clarified in technical terms and agreed. A general enquiry about renaturation or a survey on land does not establish a particular scope of work underwater.
What should be done if a suspicious object is found during earthworks?
If an unexpected suspicious object is found, stop work in the affected area immediately. Do not touch, move or uncover it further. Leave the immediate area, keep your distance and keep others away without putting yourself at risk. In Germany, call the police immediately on 110; outside Germany, use the local emergency procedure. The competent authorities determine the next steps. Inform site management and the client; internal notification must not delay the emergency call.
Is water-law approval sufficient evidence concerning explosive ordnance?
Authority approval and a specialist survey result serve different purposes. Requirements for the specific procedure are clarified with the competent authority. Approval does not automatically replace the necessary ground survey.
How are temporary work areas taken into account?
If creating them requires groundworks, foundations or utilities, these interventions are described by location and depth. Their survey needs are clarified before work starts, even if the work area is to be removed later.
What changes if a deeper watercourse bed is planned later?
The revised profile is compared with the previous survey areas and depth references. A statement relating to the earlier design does not automatically cover the additional deepening. Before the affected work, specialists clarify the additional survey needs and a suitable way of carrying them out.
What changes if the water level or access conditions change?
Report changes to water level, access and available work areas before the specialist work. The suitability of the intended method and the conclusions that can be reached are agreed again under the actual conditions. A survey on accessible land is not applied to water-covered areas without explicit technical clarification.
What determines the survey workload and costs?
Factors affecting the work include the location, area, geometry and depth of ground interventions, soil and sediment, water conditions, slopes, access, installations and sources of interference. Temporary work areas, construction stages, existing findings, suitable survey methods and the extent of documentation also matter. Suitable execution and the commissioned survey volume are defined before costing.
Project enquiry
Send the site plan and watercourse profiles with your enquiry
Plan revision and decision deadline
Specify whether the project is at an early planning stage, being prepared for procurement or already approaching an intervention in the ground. The date by which a technical conclusion is required helps coordination. Outstanding information is communicated expressly rather than replaced with assumed values.
Add watercourse profiles, structural works, temporary areas and information about access and water conditions. Attach existing ordnance reports and authority project documents. Identify planned work on land, on banks and in water. The documents are first used to define the technical task; whether services in the water can be carried out, and to what extent, is separately clarified technically and agreed before commissioning.
Also state which tasks are already fixed and which alternatives are still being assessed. For an initial technical assessment, the spatial extent, planned ground interventions, existing findings and access actually available matter. Identify a contact for the plan appendices and the conditions expected at the intended time.
Distinguish the desired quotation date from the date results must be handed over and the first affected ground intervention. This allows initial clarification of the information needed and the survey scope that can be explicitly agreed to obtain it. Outstanding questions about services in the water are raised at this coordination stage.
Assign records to their locations
Send the site plan and available reports with their associated appendices. For multiple construction stages, indicate which document relates to which area. Photographs supplement descriptions of access and existing conditions; they do not replace information on underground structures or planned depths. Where a report has several parts, explain their spatial relationship to land, bank and water areas. Attach the associated profiles and plan appendices with the version used in each case. Explicitly identify unresolved conditions as outstanding. If a structure or the intended construction method has changed since an earlier survey, the specialist contractor receives the current description for comparison. Existing authority project documents help define the specific task; the relevant decisions remain with the respective authorities. These documents support coordination of the scope technically possible and actually agreed.
Flood protection and retention basins
Preparing flood protection worksGreen spaces and landscape planning
Planning work in green spacesPublic project organisation
Prepare public construction projects
Have your project assessed
Whether historical aerial photograph analysis, explosive ordnance surveying, surface surveying using GPR, magnetometry or TDEM, deep-ground surveys, downhole surveys, excavation supervision, area clearance or ordnance recovery is needed depends on the location, ground disturbance, depth, ground and existing documents. An early ordnance assessment provides clarity for tendering, programming, occupational safety and construction.
FONTANA-EOD combines its Section 7 SprengG licence, specialists holding Section 20 SprengG certificates of competence, suitable survey and clearance methods, and traceable documentation. Send the site plan, depth of ground disturbance, construction phase and existing documents for an initial technical assessment.
