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Caption if needed sdkvjb sdkvjnsdlk dvsdvdvsdvsdvsdv dv skjbdv lskdjvbsdkljvbsdkv ONSITE PIPES AND PIPELINES 10 WET NEWS NOVEMBER 2018 | wwtonline.co.uk with the smooth running of road crossing and site access. "A lot of the project is rural, but we've still had an impact on members of the public both visually and in terms of disruption. For example, there are over 30 road crossings, although wherever possible these have been tunnelled to prevent any road closure. Also, in some areas our work is close to gardens and prop- erties. During the long hot summer there was a particular challenge of dust and to resolve this we used non-pota- ble water to regularly damp down dust areas." Managing winter working is key to the BRP, as it crosses over a large stretch of land. The team has worked to man- age this carefully by identify- ing suitable working locations that are free draining areas, thus mitigating risk by ena- bling work without detrimen- tal damage to the sub-struc- tures of the soil. With so much of the route passing through open land, 22.5km of the pipeline has been installed using open-cut techniques; the remainder, which involved passing under the M5, railway lines, roads, a canal and a river, required trenchless methods. "Some of the installation was completed using a closed- face slurry tunnelling machine, while some used an open-faced Akkerman machine," Sidaway says. "We've utilised an open- faced digger shield machine and a rock-boring machine to cross under eight high-pressure gas mains." The process of delivering the new Lickhill Pumping Lickhill reception shaft construction Ready for resilience • Working collaboratively with Severn Trent Water, independent infrastructure specialist Barhale has overcome some significant challenges as it makes progress on delivering a new cross-country pipeline and pumping station for the Birmingham Resilience Project T he Elan Valley Aqueduct (EVA) has proved a relia- ble source of drinking water for the people of Bir- mingham, transporting water 72 miles from the Elan Valley reservoirs in Mid Wales to Frankley reservoir in the Mid- lands since 1904. However, a—er over 100 years of use, the EVA now requires extended mainte- nance to keep it in service and so a back-up supply is needed to keep water flowing to the city when repairs are carried out to the EVA. To make water supplies to Birmingham secure, the £300 million Bir- mingham Resilience Project (BRP) is a key element of its AMP6 capital programme: it will create a new, truly resil- ient water supply to over a million customers, including a new back-up source. As a central part of the BRP, Barhale is Severn Trent's principle contractor and designer on the project to deliver a 26km, 1,067mm diameter steel pipeline and pumping station. The pipeline will run from a new intake from the banks of the River Severn at Lickhill to Frankley Water Treatment Works and provide part of the new back-up supply, which will be used for up to six weeks each year while planned mainte - nance and repairs are carried out on the EVA, or in the event of an emergency. "Severn Trent needs to pro- vide a resilient supply to Bir- mingham and that's what our collaborative team is doing," Barhale senior project man- ager Dave Sidaway says. "Frankley Water Treatment Works is served by the gravity aqueduct from Wales' Elan Valley, which is over 100 years old and so requires ongoing maintenance. Currently, the EVA can only be taken out of commission for two five-day periods each calendar year, which doesn't leave much room for works to take place." Work is nearly complete on installing the pipeline but the project, which got underway in September 2016, has presented some substantial challenges. For example, the pipeline passes through property belonging to 110 private land - owners, risking significant delays, but a proactive approach – with Barhale's agri- cultural liaison officer and Sev- ern Trent's land agents working together with landowners – has proven effective. Sidaway says: "We've obvi- ously had to carefully manage key stakeholders along the project, which the team have navigated successfully, but over the course of more than two years, with over 100 land owners to manage, we've not had any major problems. It's all gone really well. "The team has made efforts to keep the public on side. Working closely with Severn Trent's dedicated community team, we have helped to ensure customers are aware and updated of the work being carried out around the area and how it may affect them. "We have participated in many residents and commu - nity meetings, hosted several site visits so residents can come along and see the work and engaged a dedicated traf- fic management officer to help More than 22km of the pipeline installation was open-cut

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