The tap has been turned on for a £50 million boost to Somerset’s water supply after the enhanced Durleigh Water Treatment Centre near Bridgwater was brought into service.
The massive refurbishment of the Enmore Road site, which got under way in 2019 after more than four years of planning, saw the old water treatment centre – which draws on Durleigh Reservoir to the west – reconstructed to ensure that the highest quality drinking water would continue to be delivered to a population of more than 44,000.
The largest single-value project ever delivered by Wessex Water’s Engineering and Sustainable Delivery (ESD) team has now moved into operation after a three-year rebuild that came in on time, despite the additional challenges posed by Covid-19.
Project manager Nigel Coates said:
“Refurbishing the Durleigh centre has been a complex, large-scale project taking place within a tight working site and coming up against challenges such as poor ground conditions as well as the obvious difficulties caused by the pandemic.
“Teams across Wessex Water and all the partners involved have worked extremely hard to ensure any major delays have been avoided and they deserve enormous credit for making sure that the centre has returned to supply and delivering high-quality water to thousands of people in the area.’’
The old Durleigh site had outgrown its design capacity, with the reconstruction required to update water treatment processes and ensure it would continue to meet increasing demands from a rising population.
More than 70 per cent of the old water treatment centre was demolished and recycled, with outdated equipment decommissioned and removed, while the rest of the site was repurposed or refurbished.
The new main treatment building now houses the water treatment centre, laboratory and main control room.
Using innovative developments in technology and project delivery also made sure the scheme’s impact on the environment was reduced, as well as saving time, costs and materials.
Partnering with infrastructure consulting firm AECOM, who delivered the detailed design, the internal construction team established that some large structures and tanks could be built offsite, brought in and craned into position, saving an estimated 20 per cent programme time and £1.1 million, as well as reducing construction waste on site by up to 20 per cent.
Two new wetlands created upstream from the centre will also improve the quality of water entering the reservoir and enhance wildlife and biodiversity, supporting the work of Wessex Water’s catchment delivery team with local farmers to reduce pesticides and silt entering the Durleigh Brook.
Delivery manager Simon Osborne said:
“The Durleigh project is part of our long-term water supply strategy for Somerset and the project has also led way in the water industry with the implementation and daily use of digital technology.
“These essential improvements will ensure we continue to deliver high-quality water to our customers, and we thank the local community for their patience and understanding while this extensive project has been completed.
“This has also transformed the way we deliver large capital projects, with the model-based delivery approach being a catalyst for the formation of an in-house digital engineering team.”
AECOM Water project manager Mark Badcock said:
“As the design partner for this flagship project, our design leads and 3D modellers worked with the Wessex Water team at Durleigh to achieve the optimum design.
“This was a technically complex project and the emphasis on digital collaboration and engineering were critical to its success. It’s a fantastic achievement all round to see it in operation.”
