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

Hi everyone,

the weeks are flying over!

Please find below update for the works to Friday, 5 August 2016:

Excavation continued to the Actiflo and Rapid gravity filters areas in the NW corner of the site (photos attached). Excavated material was stockpiled on the spoil heap at the SE corner. This heap is now completed and topsoil was spread to the heap during the latter part of the week (see photo).

A new haul route was developed to allow further excavated material to be stockpiled in the SW corner of the site (see photo).

Northern Power grid returned to site to continue work to the diversion of overhead high voltage cables to a new underground route. New poles have been erected to replace redundant ones which will be removed when diversion works are complete (see photo). The work will continue over the weekend of Saturday, 6 and Sunday,7 August, 2016.

Enjoy the weekend. Watch out for the winds on Sunday.

 Geoff

Please find attached details of the site team on the Horsley WTW Upgrade scheme. In the coming weeks we shall put some more detailed identity to the faces on display.

Hi everyone,

please find below the latest update of work carried out up to Friday, 29 July, 2016.

Works have again continued to the excavation for the Actiflo and Rapid Gravity Filters area at the north-west corner of the site. The excavated material stockpile at the southern boundary of the site continues to grow. Trial hole excavations have been continuing all week to ascertain the exact locations and identify materials of existing services. These are well-documented on historical records, but nothing is being left to chance in case there are any mis-recorded details.

Fortunately for the region the forked lightning forecasted for last weekend did not materialise. Unfortunately for us it postponed the transfer of the overhead high voltage cables to their new underground home for a fortnight. The work is now planned to be completed over the weekend of 6/7 August, 2016. To date the overall project remains unaffected by this delay.

Away from work, as part of our quest for good community liaison, Mike Foster (NWG Project Manager) and I visited The Hearth in Horsley village. The Hearth is an Arts Centre and Cafe, catering for local residents and visitors alike. The food and drink in the cafe looked tip-top, and the work by resident artists on show in The Hearth was fantastic. I would recommend a visit. Details are on www.thehearth.co.uk.

An old film about the construction of Horsley Water Treatment Works as we know it today has surfaced. It's worth a watch even for the nostalgia value, prior to current-day health and safety standards, and in the days of Fast Show meetings. Oh, and it's very educational. Find it at http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-waters-of-the-tyne-1978/ .

Happy viewing. Enjoy the weekend.

Geoff

Hi Everyone,

One of our previous works managers from Horsley Water Treatment Works has made me aware of a video that documents the history associated with the building of the original treatment works in the 1970's.

The Waters of the Tyne - take a look at the building of the original works in the 1970's on the British Film Institute web site:

http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-waters-of-the-tyne-1978/

Regards
Mike Foster