Current activity - as of week ending 19th September 2010

Pipe laying
53km of the total 55km pipeline has now been laid and the remaining 2km will be completed over the coming weeks.  The next stages are to refill the open excavations and install the post construction drainage. Before topsoil is replaced and we reinstate the land, the pipeline must be tested in sections to ensure that water can flow through the pipeline at pressure; we have already tested over 50% of the route.  Following a successful pressure test we can begin to reinstate the land to its former condition.

Tunnelling
All of our tunnels have now been constructed with the exception of the Springwater Park tunnel in Radcliffe.  The Springwater Park tunnel is the longest on the project at 647m; it enables us to construct the pipe from Hollinhurst Road underneath the Metrolink and Radcliffe New Road into Springwater Park without having to cause major traffic disruption.
When constructing concrete reinforced tunnels underneath obstacles such as roads, railways or waterways we first construct a concrete shaft at either side of the obstacle, these can be up to 30m deep.  We then lower a tunnelling machine into one shaft (- shaft) and it drills through the ground until it reaches the other shaft (+ shaft) where the machine is then lifted back out again.  This process can take weeks to complete but enables us to cross obstacles causing a minimum level of disruption.

Pump House works
After all of the pipework has been installed and linked into the tunnel sections we must ensure that the pumps at Prescot Reservoir are powerful enough to be able to force water all the way to Woodgate Hill Reservoir.  Over the coming months we will be installing brand new pumps into the Pump House at Prescot.
When the need arises to send water from Woodgate Hill Reservoir to Prescot Reservoir no pumping will be required as the water will gravitate downhill naturally.

 

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