WET News

wwtonline.co.uk | NOVEMBER 2018 WET NEWS 11 Station has proved particu- larly complicated. One of those challenges was topogra- phy of the land, and the need to accommodate a change of location and enable flows to approach the pumping station wet well at the right angle. The issue was resolved by constructing a curved tunnel. "We'd built a scale model of the pumping station prior The River Severn intake structure PROJECT SPECS • Install 26km steel pipeline from Lickhill to Frankley Water Treatment Works • Construct intake structure from River Severn at Lickhill • Construct Lickhill Pumping Station, including four of the biggest pumps on Severn Trent's network, working at a capacity of 50ml/d each PRISON SERVICE With over 200 operatives required on the project, Barhale has made use of a programme to employ prisoners. "Recognising the fact there's a shortage, we had to look for alternative sources of labour supply," Sidaway says. "These guys are low-risk prisoners and they've gone through a very rigorous quality assurance process from the agency that goes into the prison and provides them with the training. The risk assessment process is quite onerous. "The workers are generally those entering the final 12 months of their sentences at open prisons. Barhale informs the agency as to its work requirements ahead of time and the prisoners are then given targeted training so that they are fully prepared for the tasks. "These guys were good, and we took some of them on the books directly as a result. It's a great programme as it gives them a leg up back into society. We still engage with some of them in London and some of the guys are still on the Birmingham Resilience Project. It's been a definite success." NEED TO KNOW • Project cost for pipeline, intake structure and pumping station: £60 million • In feasibility stage from 2007, with construction starting in 2016 and due to be fully commissioned in February 2020 • Project spans 20 individual sites and employed 220 personnel at its peak problem, we took the decision to drive a curved tunnel. Using a Herrenknecht machine, we were successful – perfect on line and level, both entry and exit." Barhale is currently con - structing the pumping station and intake structure, and will soon begin hydrostatically testing the pipeline up to max pressures of 33 bar, with the to the change of location and that indicated that, to avoid cavitation and vortexing of these £1.5 million pumps, the line of the tunnel needed to be zero degrees to the line of the pumps," Sidaway says. "Mov - ing the pumping station downhill meant a 16-degree deviation, so rather than remodelling it to prove cavita- tion and vortexing wasn't a project due to be fully com- missioned in February 2020. "It has been a challenging project," Sidaway says. "There have been some complica- tions, but it's on time and on programme, meaning Severn Trent will be able to deliver a more resilient water supply to Birmingham, and continue the necessary upkeep on the EVA for years to come." Barhale's Dave Sidaway, centre, addresses the team

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