CLIENT: YORKSHIRE WATER
ESTIMATED COST: £4.8 MILLION
ESTIMATED DURATION: 12 MONTHS
PROJECT REQUIREMENTS
Westwood Pipelines were contracted to deliver improved quality of local water to all Yorkshire Water customers in the Yorkshire Dales National Park region. Requirements for the team were to install over 20km of PE100 180mm SDR11 of new water piping between Reeth and Angram. The proposed system would need to pass through the villages of Healaugh and Gunnerside and would require two new pumping stations to replace the decommissioned water treatment works situated in West Stonesdale.
The proposed pipeline would reduce the risk of bursts, supply interruptions and leakage by up to one million litres a day.
OUR INNOVATION
Yorkshire Water and Westwood Pipelines were insistent that strong communications between both parties and the local community would be essential to the success of the project. Regular discussions were held with the local farming community, private land owners and the North Yorkshire County Council to ensure disruption was minimal throughout the project’s duration. A dedicated customer liaison officer was employed to spearhead the communications campaign.
With steep gradients, changeable weather conditions, five river crossings and remote, high altitude locations to contend with, carrying out work of this size and scale within the rugged terrain of the Yorkshire Dales was always going to be a challenge. During investigation works, the team trialled the use of unmanned air drones for initial land surveys – an innovative measure that proved extremely beneficial in providing accurate and timely information from more remote areas. Should more established methods have been used, it would have proven more problematic in the long-run.
Further innovation for the project was provided by the team below:
• A small rig was used for carrying out bore holes to remote, difficult access.
• Directional drilling to avoid damage to important meadows.
• A spinning bucket to allow recycling of backfill material on site.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
As Westwood Pipelines are keen to protect our natural environment, the project team worked closely with the Environment Agency, Natural England and Yorkshire Dales National Parks to ensure the surrounding areas were conserved and suitably protected.
The conservation of the hay meadows and the area’s complex ecosystems and supported wildlife were also considered heavily throughout the project. As such, an extensive environmental audit included a phase one habitat survey to record semi-natural vegetation and other wildlife habitats across the pipeline route.
