Southern Water has completed its £7.5 million project to provide a new water pipeline to the Isle of Sheppey.
The project team led by Peter Simmons faced major challenges as they used a directional drill 500 metres across the swale. “There was all sorts of changes in the soil, clay and shells which made life pretty tough. But we had a brilliant team and overcame every hurdle,” he said.
The project commenced in October 2022, just three months after a major incident saw Sheppey lose water supplies for three days.
In the wake of the incident Southern Water:
- Promised this new pipeline
- Paid compensation and donated £30,000 to local causes including Festival of the Sea and Swale Pride
- All customers received compensation and additionally a £20 shopping voucher at a cost of £300,000
Aside from the engineering hurdles the nature of the site presented its own complexities.
Dr Nicola Meakins who is in charge of Southern Water’s enabling team got special consents in record time:
“We were drilling from on site of special scientific interest to another so Defra, Natural England and other regulators and stakeholders had to be sure our work was done to minimise our impact on wildlife and we had good plans in place to return our sites to normal,” she said.
“Fortunately, regulators know and trust our ecologists and project managers to do the right thing and we were able to gain consents in record time.”
