Hi, everyone

Work continues to structures and to mechanical installations within the Actiflo Building at the north end of the site. Installation of the "Lamella" packs has commenced - these form part of the process for removal of suspended solids from the raw water extracted from the River Tyne at Ovingham and from Whttle Dene reservoirs. Pipeline installation has continued through the flow meter chamber just upstream of the Actiflo Building.

In the Rapid Gravity Filters construction of concrete walls has continued, and water testing of the Filter chambers continues after a successful test on the first filter chamber.

Excavation for the new Birney Hill Pumping Station continued in sandstone bedrock.

One of my colleagues and I lent our assistance to a company initiative on Tuesday when  squad from the company helped with some tidying up at Ovingham Park. Work included some painting of playground equipment and gardening activities (weed/grass removal, rotivating, with shovels, and planting of Flowers and shrubs). This was not directly connected with the Horsley scheme but I thought I'd share our heroics with you.

Have a nice weekend

Geoff

Hi everyone

I was down in that Old London Town at the end of last week, so didn't get to update the latest news. That's one magnificent edifice that Alexandra Palace ( I wasn't there for a darts competition!).

Work has continued over the last fortnight with the construction of walls in the Rapid Gravity Filters area.

Concrete has also now been completed to the Actiflo Building floor slabs. Mechanical installation work continued in this area also.

Excavation work commenced last week to the new Birney Hill Pumping Station at the south east corner of the site.

Have a nice weekend

Geoff

Hi, everyone

I had a week in Spain last week so this update covers the previous two weeks.

Work continued to the construction of walls in the RGF area again. Roof construction to the Actiflo area at the north end of the site has been substantially completed, and the safety netting has been removed. Installation of handrailing and access platforms/stairs continued in the Actiflo area also.

Pipelaying activities continued between the RGF building and the existing labs, and is now 70% complete. The two end connections require completion. These will be installed at a later date.

It looks like the weather might hold up for any planned barbecues for the last Bank Holiday before Christmas, so get the coals started now.

Anyone know the difference between bison and buffalo.

Enjoy the long weekend.

Geoff

Hi everyone

I've been on leave for a couple of weeks so the portal update has been missed in that time.

On return to the site the I found that the progress has been good despite continued unusually poor weather for the time of year. Roof construction to the Actiflo area at the north end of the site has commenced and will continue for the near future. Wall construction has continued in the RGF area at the south end of the site.

Pipelaying activities continued between the RGF building and the existing labs.

A gas main diversion has been almost completed at the south east corner of the site. This has been necessary to facilitate construction of a new pumping station in this location.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Geoff

Hi everyone,

Work continued this week through the glorious mid-summer weather. The Actiflo area was a hive of activity with the continuation of work on the structural steel frame and installation of purlins which will support the roof and wall cladding. Netting was fixed to the underside and edges of the roof structure to allow cladding work to commence next week. Installation of handrailing and access metalwork continued inside the building and in the lower gallery area.

Steelfixing recommenced to the high levels to the walls of the Flowmeter chamber to the north-east of the Actiflo building.

In the Rapid Gravity Filter (RGF) area work continued with steelfixing and formwork erection to walls and base slab. Concrete was placed to a wall at the south end of the building today (Friday, 28 July).

External works commenced on 1200 mm diameter pipelaying in the road south of the RGF area.

Have a great weekend.

Geoff

Hi everyone,

despite some time being lost again during the week due to the high winds (they seem to be a constant up here), progress has again been good.

Work continued to both base slab and walls to the Rapid Gravity Filters at the south end of the site, with concrete placed to both on Friday (21 July).

Erection of the structural steel frame to the Actiflo building continued and is now 95% complete. Purlins have been fixed to the frame to support the cladding which will form the walls amd roof. Internal steelwork installation has commenced in the building to handrailing and access platforms.

Have a good weekend

Geoff

Hi, everyone

I had a few days off at the beginning of last week and ran out of time to update the portal, so this week's update covers the last fortnight.

It's unbelievable how much the landscape changes in the space of two weeks. Wall construction in the Rapid Gravity Filters area has continued apace. The temporary access ramp at the south-west extremity has been removed to allow construction of the last section of the base slab.

In the Actiflo Building at the north end of the site, pipework installation continued and structural steelwork erection commenced at the beginning of this week. This task has progressed rapidly with the main erection work due for completion by the weekend. (See photos).

In a meeting earlier in the week, in a stuffy cabin reminiscent of a hot box in the desert, when Health and Safety was being discussed, one of our colleagues mentioned a well-known behavioural trait known as "Alpha-state". When quizzed as to the EXACT meaning of this term (for the ones who are behind in Behavioural Safety jargon), we were enlightened that it referred to " basically operating on autopilot". When a question was aimed at me I had to ask for a repetition of the enquiry as I'd slipped into a Beta state. Asked what emotional condition this referred to, I had to admit that I was "basically asleep". It got me reminiscing back to my recent break in Barcelona, where I'm sure I probably went through the full Greek alphabet of states. All except for Omega state, as I assume by the time this is achieved it's too late for anything except the formaldehyde injection.

Have a great gamma weekend.

Geoff

Hi, everyone

Despite the miserable weather suffered throughout the week, work progressed well again. Wall construction continued to the RGF area to the south end of the site, with concrete placement and reinforcement fixing.

Construction of the edge ground beam commenced with the first section to the north west corner of the Actiflo building completed today, Friday.

Foundation work to the Chemical Building at the north west side of the Actiflo Building commenced with steelfixing and formwork erection.

The glamour boys (mechanical fitters) are back on site and have started the installation of pipework in the Actiflo Gallery.

We seem to have hit a period of "slow news" and together with the fact that all on site have stopped telling me of their latest adventures lest I forward the tales on this page, I have no anecdotal pleasantries to offer this week. I'm off for a short break for the first half of next week, so I'm sure I'll have stories of glee and woe in equal measure next week.

Have a good weekend.

Geoff

Hi everyone,

I gather that once again there appeared to be some glitch in the publication of last week's update and that some people may not have received it until yesyerday. Apologies for that but it appears to be a system rather than an operator (me) failure.

Work has again continued apace with good progress on all areas. Backfilling around the Actiflo area continued followed by the commencement of the insytallation of electrical ducts from the MCC control building into the Actiflo streams. In the same area at the north end of the site work continued to formwork erection to the Flowmeter chamber.

In the Rapid Gravity Filters area work continued to construct the base slab to the western filters. Steelfixing and formwork tasks were completed on Thursday and concrete placed to the slab today, Friday. Steelfixing and formwork erection continued to walls in the eastern filters. See photos attached.

One of our colleagues returned to work this week after his paternity leave. Many congratulations to him and his partner on the birth of their graceful new daughter.

Have a good weekend.

Geoff

Hi everyone,

the IT problem with updates appears to have disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared. Due to the gap since the last update you will notice a difference in the landscape since the last updated photos.

Work has progressed well on the walls to the east side of the Rapid Gravity Filters (see photos). Concrete has been placed to the Flowmeter chamber at the north-east corner of the site, which has allowed continuation of pipelaying into the chamber wall sections (see photos). Backfilling around the Actiflo building continued and the vista has changed dramatically. (Another few weeks and you won't know there are some underground tanks in there). (Photos attached).

Have a great weekend.

Geoff