Water and Effluent Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/879866
OCTOBER 2015 WET NEWS 7 Precast saves time • Improving water quality in Swansea Bay has been helped with the installation of precast concrete drainage systems – and ahead of schedule. install the Kijlstra components which comprised a 50m 3 / 50,000l, 16m long storage tank, 3m long flow regulator chamber with two 1.5m long downstream culverts with end walls, as well as 11 other 1.5m long upstream culverts with dry weather flow channels (including two with end walls). The Kijlstra regula- tor chamber restricts water flow to 60 litres per second. Anything over that is stored in the tank for treatment at a later date. These Kijlstra components for the culvert run for the CSO upgrade were manufactured at the company's Somerset factory and delivered to site by truck for installation by a 100-tonne mobile crane. Prior to leaving the factory the culverts are fitted with a rubber gasket seal which means the contractor does not have to prepare and prime the connections to fit jointing mate- rial, thus enabling a quick and easy push-fit installation. Morgan Sindall site agent Byron Thomas estimates ONSITE dRaInagE Morgan Sindall took two months to install the Kijlstra components W ork has drawn to a close on a water project that could have taken another two months if precast concrete drainage sys- tems had not been used. The final phase of the £3.5M Dwr Cymru Welsh Water project to improve bathing and river water quality in the Sketty Green area of Swansea Bay for decades to come is now complete a'er six months. The project was par- ticularly complex due to the location of the sewer pipe in the middle of Derwen Fawr Road, a key route in the area. The major project by the not- for-profit water company was designed to bring long-term benefits to the area by upgrad- ing its wastewater network to improve the network's perfor- mance, particularly during wet weather. The work helps reduce the risk of potential bursts and flooding which improves the quality of local bathing water. Main contractor Morgan Sin- dall had taken two months to installation would have taken twice as long had they used the traditional shutter and steel- work method: "We wanted cul- verts to have dry weather flow channels as they were the most cost-efficient and practical solu- tion. Other options would have been pipework. There were many benefits to using the Kijl- stra systems, one of the main ones being the traditional method of shutters and steel- work would have taken twice as long. Precast was time-saving, minimising time on site. This time saving aspect also helped reduce the inconvenience to customers living in the area and road users, due to the road clo- sure required for construction. "There was also a reduction in waste on site and the health and safety risks associated with building it in the ground. You could also argue that it's more environmentally friendly to cast them off site and that you get a better-quality product when it's manufactured in a factory." TEchKNoW • The Kijlstra components comprised a 50m3/50,000l, 16m long storage tank, 3m long flow regulator chamber with two 1.5m long downstream culverts with end walls • Eleven other 1.5m long upstream culverts were also supplied • The regulator chamber restricts water flow to 60 litres per second ProjEcT SPEcS • Improve bathing and river water quality • Reduce the risk of potential bursts and flooding • Install drainage components to restrict water flow during wet weather ThE VErDIcT "Precast was time-saving, minimising time on site. There was also a reduction in waste on site and the health and safety risks associated with building it in the ground" Byron Thomas, Morgan Sindall NEED To KNoW 1 The project was particularly complex due to the location of the sewer pipe 2 The contractor did not have to prepare and prime the connections to fit jointing material 3 The scheme was the final phase of Welsh Water's £3.5M project to improve bathing and river water quality in the Sketty green area The Kijlstra regulator chamber restricts water flow to 60 litres per second The culverts were fitted with a rubber gasket seal before leaving the factory The components were transported from Somerset and delivered to site by truck for installation by a mobile crane