Water management company Asset International worked with KWH Pipe UK on the scheme at Meadowhead in Ayrshire to reduce overflow from combined sewers in Kilmarnock and Irvine spilling into the local river system during heavy storms. The project will mean significant environmental improvement to rivers and to the coastal waters of Irvine Bay in the Firth of Clyde.
The team from Asset and KWH Pipe provided a 10,000m³ attenuation tank and 300 metres of associated pipework in 2.1 metre nominal diameter.
George Merry, managing director of KWH, said: “The long established partnership between KWH Pipe (UK) Ltd, the Scottish Water framework supplier for large diameter polyethylene pipework systems and Asset International, the UK licensee for the manufacture of Weholite products, has led to the successful installation of what is the largest ever Weholite storage tank supplied and installed anywhere in the world.”
The tank is capable of holding 10 million litres of water and features 16 legs of 2.6 diameter pipes, comprising approximately 2km of pipework in total. A tank of such a scale is large enough to contain storm water flow in the event of a large amount of rainfall and ensures Scottish Water meets European directives.
The contract was won by MBV, the joint venture of Morrison and Black & Veatch. MBV designed the system so that the retained storm water is directed into a new pipe and channelled to the Meadowhead treatment works. From there it is managed to ensure that the bathing water quality standards in the Irvine Bay are met.
Dominic Moynihan, MBV project manager, explained the choice of Weholite plastic tanks and pipes: “A number of things directed us to Weholite. Firstly, the fact that it gave us a smooth invert without the need for further treatment. Secondly, Weholite offered an installation service, which meant that the same engineers who had manufactured the pipes were the ones installing them on site.”
Simon Thomas, managing director at Asset, said: “As flooding in our urban environments continues to become more and more of a focus we will continue to develop our systems in order to meet any and all eventualities.”
