Planning

Contract for the acoustic supply of hydrometric river flow instrumentation

ENVIRONMENT AGENCY

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

18 Dec 2025 at 16:11

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process, currently in the planning stage, is being managed by the Environment Agency, in collaboration with the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It concerns the contract for the supply of hydroacoustic instruments used in hydrometric river flow measurement. The industry category for this procurement is instrumentation and control equipment, and it is located in the United Kingdom. This contract is vital for monitoring water quantity in rivers, lakes, and aquifers, contributing to areas such as flood risk management and climate resilience. Key dates include the deadline for requesting meetings on the 16th of January 2026, with meetings to be held between the 26th of January and 6th of February 2026. The contract period is planned to start on the 4th of May 2026 and end on the 3rd of May 2029.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses, especially SMEs, to engage in a long-term commercial agreement with a public authority in the United Kingdom. Companies providing advanced hydroacoustic technologies can contribute significantly to essential environmental monitoring services. The tender is suited to businesses adept at delivering high-precision instrumentation for water flow measurement, which will support routine and long-term environmental data collection. Firms specialising in mobile profiling instruments, waded point-velocity equipment, or fixed-deployment profiling technology will find this tender particularly aligned with their expertise and capability to deliver under such specifications.

Find more tenders on our Open Data Platform.
How relevant is this notice?

D3 Tenders Premium

Win More Public Sector Contracts

AI-powered tender discovery, pipeline management, and market intelligence — everything you need to grow your public sector business.

Start Free Trial Book a Demo
All Features Pricing

Notice Information

Notice Title

Contract for the acoustic supply of hydrometric river flow instrumentation

Notice Description

The Environment Agency's Hydrometry teams monitor water quantity across rivers, streams, lakes, and groundwater aquifers. Hydroacoustic instruments are used to measure water discharge in these environments. A hydroacoustic contract is required to secure specialist services and equipment that utilise sound in water to achieve objectives not feasible with other technologies. Area Hydrometry and Telemetry teams purchase and operate these instruments, with technical support and procurement guidance provided by the National Hydrometry team. The Environment Agency has selected hydroacoustic instruments as a highly accurate, long-term, and cost-effective solution for measuring water. These instruments support both routine measurements and long-term monitoring programmes, which are critical for: Trend Analysis - Tracking changes in river flows, lake levels, and groundwater over time to understand hydrological patterns. Flood Risk Management - Providing accurate discharge data to improve flood forecasting and early warning systems. Climate Resilience - Assessing the impact of climate change on water resources and informing adaptation strategies. Regulatory Compliance - Meeting statutory obligations for water quantity reporting and supporting environmental legislation. Infrastructure Planning - Supplying data for water resource management, reservoir operations, and sustainable development. The instruments fall into three main categories: Mobile profiling instruments Waded point-velocity instruments Fixed-deployment profiling instruments To facilitate procurement and ensure continuity of long-term monitoring, the Environment Agency intends to establish commercial agreements for a fixed three-year period covering the following lots: 1. Mobile acoustic profiling instrument 0-20m depth 2. Mobile acoustic multipoint velocity waded instrument 0-1m depth 3. Short range fixed velocity profiling instrument 0-5m 4. Long range fixed velocity profiling instrument 0-100m

Planning Information

We encourage interested suppliers to register their interest in this project and submit any questions via the sourcing portal or by email. Suppliers wishing to request a meeting should provide evidence of their capability to deliver this project in no more than 500 words and send it to the email address provided in this notice. Suppliers may request a meeting by 16/01/26. Meetings will be scheduled within the period from 26/01/26 to 06/02/26. Meeting slots are limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Requests received after the deadline or when all slots have been filled may not be accommodated. To ensure productive discussions, we kindly ask suppliers to submit relevant questions in advance. All questions and answers raised during the process will be shared in the tender package. The Authority reserves the right to amend or withdraw this opportunity.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05f99c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084584-2025
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Goods
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

31 - Electrical machinery, apparatus, equipment and consumables; lighting

CPV Codes

31682210 - Instrumentation and control equipment

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Dec 20252 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
23 Jan 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
3 May 2026 - 3 May 2029 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planning
Lots Status
Planning
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
Additional Buyers

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Contact Name
Not specified
Contact Email
ella.liu@defra.gov.uk
Contact Phone
Not specified

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SW1P 4DF
Post Town
South West London
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI3 Inner London - West
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI35 Westminster and City of London
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Westminster
Electoral Ward
St James's
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

Download

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts. 

{
    "tag": [
        "compiled"
    ],
    "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-05f99c-2025-12-18T16:11:35Z",
    "date": "2025-12-18T16:11:35Z",
    "ocid": "ocds-h6vhtk-05f99c",
    "initiationType": "tender",
    "parties": [
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PNWW-1475-NYLN",
            "name": "ENVIRONMENT AGENCY",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PNWW-1475-NYLN"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street",
                "locality": "London",
                "postalCode": "SW1P 4DF",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKI32"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "ella.liu@defra.gov.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "buyer"
            ],
            "details": {
                "url": "https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome",
                "classifications": [
                    {
                        "id": "publicAuthoritySubCentralGovernment",
                        "scheme": "UK_CA_TYPE",
                        "description": "Public authority - sub-central government"
                    }
                ]
            }
        },
        {
            "id": "GB-PPON-PNBD-3289-CDGX",
            "name": "DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS",
            "identifier": {
                "scheme": "GB-PPON",
                "id": "PNBD-3289-CDGX"
            },
            "address": {
                "streetAddress": "Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street",
                "locality": "London",
                "postalCode": "SW1P 4DF",
                "country": "GB",
                "countryName": "United Kingdom",
                "region": "UKI32"
            },
            "contactPoint": {
                "email": "ella.liu@defra.gov.uk"
            },
            "roles": [
                "procuringEntity"
            ],
            "roleDetails": "procurement facilitated via DEFRA Group Commercial",
            "details": {
                "url": "https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome"
            }
        }
    ],
    "buyer": {
        "id": "GB-PPON-PNWW-1475-NYLN",
        "name": "ENVIRONMENT AGENCY"
    },
    "planning": {
        "milestones": [
            {
                "id": "engagement",
                "type": "engagement",
                "description": "We encourage interested suppliers to register their interest in this project and submit any questions via the sourcing portal or by email. Suppliers wishing to request a meeting should provide evidence of their capability to deliver this project in no more than 500 words and send it to the email address provided in this notice. Suppliers may request a meeting by 16/01/26. Meetings will be scheduled within the period from 26/01/26 to 06/02/26. Meeting slots are limited and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Requests received after the deadline or when all slots have been filled may not be accommodated. To ensure productive discussions, we kindly ask suppliers to submit relevant questions in advance. All questions and answers raised during the process will be shared in the tender package. The Authority reserves the right to amend or withdraw this opportunity.",
                "dueDate": "2026-01-23T23:59:59Z",
                "status": "scheduled"
            }
        ],
        "documents": [
            {
                "id": "084584-2025",
                "documentType": "marketEngagementNotice",
                "noticeType": "UK2",
                "description": "Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender",
                "url": "https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/084584-2025",
                "datePublished": "2025-12-18T16:11:35Z",
                "format": "text/html"
            }
        ]
    },
    "tender": {
        "id": "ocds-h6vhtk-05f99c",
        "legalBasis": {
            "id": "2023/54",
            "scheme": "UKPGA",
            "uri": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents"
        },
        "title": "Contract for the acoustic supply of hydrometric river flow instrumentation",
        "description": "The Environment Agency's Hydrometry teams monitor water quantity across rivers, streams, lakes, and groundwater aquifers. Hydroacoustic instruments are used to measure water discharge in these environments. A hydroacoustic contract is required to secure specialist services and equipment that utilise sound in water to achieve objectives not feasible with other technologies. Area Hydrometry and Telemetry teams purchase and operate these instruments, with technical support and procurement guidance provided by the National Hydrometry team. The Environment Agency has selected hydroacoustic instruments as a highly accurate, long-term, and cost-effective solution for measuring water. These instruments support both routine measurements and long-term monitoring programmes, which are critical for: Trend Analysis - Tracking changes in river flows, lake levels, and groundwater over time to understand hydrological patterns. Flood Risk Management - Providing accurate discharge data to improve flood forecasting and early warning systems. Climate Resilience - Assessing the impact of climate change on water resources and informing adaptation strategies. Regulatory Compliance - Meeting statutory obligations for water quantity reporting and supporting environmental legislation. Infrastructure Planning - Supplying data for water resource management, reservoir operations, and sustainable development. The instruments fall into three main categories: Mobile profiling instruments Waded point-velocity instruments Fixed-deployment profiling instruments To facilitate procurement and ensure continuity of long-term monitoring, the Environment Agency intends to establish commercial agreements for a fixed three-year period covering the following lots: 1. Mobile acoustic profiling instrument 0-20m depth 2. Mobile acoustic multipoint velocity waded instrument 0-1m depth 3. Short range fixed velocity profiling instrument 0-5m 4. Long range fixed velocity profiling instrument 0-100m",
        "items": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "additionalClassifications": [
                    {
                        "scheme": "CPV",
                        "id": "31682210",
                        "description": "Instrumentation and control equipment"
                    }
                ],
                "deliveryAddresses": [
                    {
                        "region": "UK",
                        "country": "GB",
                        "countryName": "United Kingdom"
                    }
                ],
                "relatedLot": "1"
            }
        ],
        "mainProcurementCategory": "goods",
        "aboveThreshold": true,
        "lots": [
            {
                "id": "1",
                "suitability": {
                    "sme": true
                },
                "contractPeriod": {
                    "startDate": "2026-05-04T00:00:00+01:00",
                    "endDate": "2029-05-03T23:59:59+01:00"
                },
                "status": "planning"
            }
        ],
        "status": "planning"
    },
    "language": "en"
}