Hi, everyone

Here's the latest update for Horsley WTW Upgrade:

As reported last week we have continued with steelfixing and formwork erection to the walls in the Actiflo area at the north end of the working area. We intend to place concrete to these walls on Friday ( 21 October, 2016 ). The quantity of concrete in these wall pours is much smaller than the quantities required for the base slab pours which we completed earlier. The time taken to place the concrete is, however, restricted by the height to which it can be placed per hour. This is necessary to control the pressure on the formwork as the concrete is placed. We will complete the initial wall pour during the working shift on Friday. We may, however, need to work to a slightly later time to complete the finishing works to the top surfaces of the walls. This work requires only a couple of concrete finishers to trowel off the exposed top surface of the walls. The timing depends on the curing (setting) of the concrete which will be influenced by weather conditions at the time. Should we need to work later than the nomal hours the work will produce minimal noise. I have appended some photos of the formwork erection in progress.

We also commenced work this week to install rock anchors to the Rapid Gravity Filters area to the south of the Actiflo. Believe it or not, but the large concrete tanks we are constructing below ground level can, given the right (or wrong) groundwater levels, float. We can calculate the upthrust that we need to guard against flotation thanks to my old schoolmate Archimedes (he was a right swot at school was Archie). The anchors are installed by drilling to a calculated depth in the rock below our excavation and grouting in heavy steel rods. The tops of these will then be cast into the base slab when we place concrete to the slab. In total there are 109 anchors to be installed. We are installing 6 of these this week, and will carry out testing, the results of which will be available next week. Successful test results will then allow us to install the remainder of the anchors (planned to take another 2 weeks after that). I have posted a photo of the drill rig in operation.

We will update regularly as work progresses.

Regards

Geoff

Hi, everyone

Due to late holidays the updates for the Horsley upgrade scheme have been missing for a couple of weeks. Works have continued in that time to construct the base slab to the new Actiflo area. Base slab reinforcement has been completed to the area and concreting of the slab is now 90% complete. You may have noticed regular deliveries to the site over the last two weeks when some fairly large quantities of concrete have been placed. Work is now under way to install reinforcement steel to the walls. This will be followed up by erection of "formwork" ( temporary moulds into which the concrete will be placed ) prior to pouring of concrete to form the walls. The weather has been kind to us so far but there's a feeling in the air now that that may change.

Please find attached some photos of the results of work carried out in the last few weeks.

Regards

Geoff

Hi Everyone - Quick  update on the structural construction of the new Actiflo plant at Horsley Wtw . Excavators have been used to trim the existing ground to the design formation and a blinding concrete has been placed . Blinding concrete is only used as a platform to construct on and provides a good clean surface to work from. The next stage of the construction is for the steel fixers to fix the steel base and joiners to install base shutters - Concrete will then be poured to form the base of the Actiflo plant.

The Interserve 70T crawler crawler crane has now been rigged and is being used to lift the concrete skip , reinforcement steelwork , shutters and all general lifts with in the excavation . 

I have attached a couple photos which show the formation and the blinding concrete .

Hope you all have a great week end !

Hi everyone,

Just to let you know the existing treatment works is experiencing some mechanical problems on the sludge plant.

Although this is unrelated to our construction activities, I’d like to make you aware that the works team have commenced a tankering exercise from Horsley to Mosswood Water Treatment Works to ensure the works can remain operational.

Since Wednesday, this has meant running approximately eight tankers loads per day.

The tankering operation will continue over the weekend and into the middle of next week after which it will be replaced by an on-site mobile centrifuge. The centrifuge will operate for seven days a week between the hours of 7am and 7pm for a minimum period of four weeks. We can assure customers that we are working hard to resolve the breakdown as quickly as possible and that this work is essential in maintaining our levels of service from the site.  We will make every effort to minimise any disruption caused to our neighbours by increased vehicle movements and noise as a result of  this unforeseen operational problem.

This work is essential to maintain water supplies from the Horsley, we apologise for inconvenience or disruption this may be causing.

Regards

Mike Foster

Project Manager

Unfortunately the wind was a bit too strong to carry out our second camera flight at the Horsley site yesterday. 

We are hoping get the camera in the air sometime next week.

Mike Foster

Project Manager

Hi everyone,

A second camera flight over the Horsley site is planned for this afternoon, this will show the visible progress on site to date with the full extent of the large excavation and spoil heaps created at the rear of the site.

Take a look at the video taken six months ago, I will aim to upload todays camera flight as soon as it becomes available.

Mike Foster

Project Manager

The following is an overview of a site placement from Interserve QUEST Scholarship Student Katherine Montgomery:

For the past eight weeks I have been working on site at Horsley Water Treatment Works as a Student Engineer on summer placement. After finishing the first year of my degree it has been really interesting to witness a live construction project, particularly one of this size and magnitude.

The update to Horsley WTW is crucial in continuing to provide excellent quality potable water for the region. During my time here the work has been mainly focused on the excavation of Actiflo and Rapid Gravity Filters area. The rate of excavation is impressive as is the techniques of transporting and compacting the material on site. It is satisfying to see how much development the site has undertaken in such a short period of time.

During the placement I have learnt a lot about the treatment of water. The treatment of the Tyne water is incredibly thorough and precise. The methods of filtering, clarification and flocculation are used to provide low turbidity and high quality drinking water.

By attending weekly meetings I have learnt more about how the staff on site manage to predict and mitigate potential risks. It has also been interesting to see how different companies and specialists collaborate to produce design drawings. The design considers every element of the build, including everything from the piping to the building heights and cladding.

Safety is of the uttermost priority on site and every effort is made by the team to ensure that the upgrade is undertaken in the safest way possible. Regular site inspections also ensure that the project is complying to standards for sustainability as well as health and safety.

During the placement I have been responsible for creating and updating the Interface Schedule, this is a document which lists the work required for each pipe-line diversion. I have also made a live project dashboard which allows staff to view summary statistics for the project.

Additionally during the placement I have undertaken a lot of surveying work alongside other student engineers. We have been responsible for the weekly two-peg tests used to calibrate the devices for levelling. It is important that these instruments are calibrated to within 3mm so that the levels measured on site are accurate. Other equipment has also been used such as a GPS rover, which produces quick and reliable topographic measurements. This is very useful for monitoring the slope of the batter for the excavated works.

The previous eight weeks have provided a very useful insight of the construction industry. The project is a fascinating multi-disciplinary process which requires a lot of commitment, knowledge and hard work from the team. 

I have attached some photos of the excavation and the GPS monitoring.

Hope you all have  great bank holiday weekend.

Katherine Montgomery

3rd Year Engineering Student

Hi, everyone

please find below the latest update for the upgrade to Horsley WTW (to Friday, 26 August, 2016).

The excavation to the NW corner of the site has been completed, with final trimming of the sides and installation of the plant access ramp. The heavy rain of Thursday (day and night) has left the low end of the excavation looking like a Brazilian Olympic diving pool. Temporary pumps will be installed later to keep the excavation free of rainwater.

Trial hole investigations have continued to ascertain existing service locations.

A wheel-wash has been established in the site compound to prepare for winter traffic form the site.

Enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend.

Geoff

Hi, everyone.

Another successful week at the Water Treatment Works! Design work is progressing as planned. Excavation for the Rapid Gravity Filters at the north-west corner of the site (see photos) is nearing completion and the weather held out until today (nice change for the school holiday period). The excavated material has been transferred to other areas of the site for later re-use as backfill around underground structures and for planned landscaping features.

I had a run up to Rudchester (a couple of miles from Horsley) on my bike last weekend to seek out the Roman fort called Vindobala. When I got there I discovered that there's very little evidence of its existence (see photo). Apparently some bloke called General Wade took most of the stone from the milecastle and parts of the wall in the area to use as hardcore for the Military Road (mid 18^th century). It's not a bad Christian name if your surname's Dealer, but Wade?.....I bet he thought he was doing a fantastic job of recycling.

Judging by the photo those Romans were certainly way ahead of the game on the lithographic print front!

Anyway, get your rain gear out for the weekend.

Enjoy

Geoff

Good morning,

This week the blog has been updated by Katherine Montgomery and Lauren McMillan:

We are two student civil engineers who are on placement at Horsley WTW. We are both ICE Quest Scholarship students with Interserve and get to spend eight weeks over the summer on site.  During our placement here here we have been attending team meetings, performing surveying tasks and reviewing site drawings. There has been lots of activity over the last few weeks,with an overview of the works given below.

This week the excavation work has continued for the Actiflo and Rapid Gravity Filters in the North West corner of the site. The excavated material has been stockpiled and compacted, in the area South of the AES laboratory. This area has now reached its maximum capacity, so further material has been moved to the area East of the existing wash water tanks. This forms a batter around the site, which acts as a natural screen for the Water Treatment Works. It is expected that excavation of this area will be completed in the next few weeks.

There will also be edge protection installed around this area. Additionally, next week pedestrian and vehicular access will be installed. A land drain will also be introduced, to remove excess water from the area, which will prevent flooding of the excavation in the winter months.

Furthermore a selection of trial holes have been excavated to confirm the location of the site services. This provides verification of the existing drawings for the gas pipes and services in the area of the Birney Hill pumping station.  The trial hole results allow workers to ensure that the construction works do not disrupt or damage any existing services, whilst undertaking pipeline diversions.

As of yet there have been no adverse weather conditions and the works are progressing in line with the programme. There have been several health and safety talks, named Tool-box talks, which have focused on sun-safety, site-alarms and technical procedures.

Following a short delay due to the risk of lightning, the overhead lines are now buried underground to avoid any potential hazards with high vehicle impact. The goal posts, which act as a reminder for operators of the risks of low overhead cables, can now be removed.

Although the site offices are now fully operational, some work continues in the compound such as installing gates. Next week a wheel wash area and briefing area will be installed.

In the site office there are regular design meetings, with collaborative input from the design teams based in Birmingham. Weekly risk register meetings allow the team to assess any potential hazards and consider how these risks can be mitigated. Additional fortnightly design reviews allow the site based staff and consultants to discuss any matters involving the specification of the plant. 

We have included some photos of our surveying work.

Hope you all have a good weekend,

Katherine and Lauren