South Staffs Water have awarded a civil engineering package to Ross-shire Engineering (RSE) and Barhale, as part of their £55M rebuilding and refurbishment project at Hampton Loade water treatment works.
The project will be the first retrofit of its kind in an existing water treatment works and the largest deployment of ceramic membrane technology in the UK.
Specialist engineering service company RSE is undertaking a programme to increase capacity at the works through the introduction of a third water treatment process stream using a new ceramic membrane-based water-filtration solution.
Civil engineering and infrastructure specialist Barhale will deliver the civil engineering element comprising piling, construction of the reinforced concrete bases, and the installation of pipework and a large concrete tank.
The Hampton Loade water treatment works, near Bridgnorth in Shropshire, has a capacity to produce 210 million litres of high-quality water a day and supplies around 700,000 customers. The works will help pave the way for an innovative and environmentally sustainable ceramic membrane-based water-filtration system to be installed in the largest deployment of its kind in the UK.
The works form part of South Staffs Waters current investment upgrade programme and long-term strategy to develop their treatment sites – continually improving the quality of water supplied to customers in the region and significantly reducing energy consumption.
Andy Willicott, managing director at South Staffs Water said: “We are really excited about the award of this contract and seeing the innovative improvements that the work will bring. It will ensure our customers continue to receive the high-quality and resilient water supplies they expect and pay for, as well as helping us on the road to delivering net-zero carbon emissions by 2030. All this will happen with no disruptions to our customers’ supply of water.”
Allan Dallas, managing director at RSE said: “RSE are genuinely excited by the opportunity to work collaboratively with South Staffs Water and its delivery team with the upgrade to the Hampton Loade Water Treatment Works.
“Ceramic membranes are an innovative new technology that are transforming how the water sector will filter water now and into the future. We pride ourselves in being a business at the forefront of introducing new water treatment and water recycling technologies which support the sustainable and secure growth of the UK economy.”
James Ingamells, director at Barhale said: “This is a very significant project and one which really demonstrates the kind of innovation and thinking that’s going on to help improve environmental performance.”
“We are looking forward to working alongside Ross-shire Engineering to deliver what we think will be a new benchmark for water treatment in the UK.”
The project is due to be completed in summer 2024 and is partly funded through the Green Recovery Fund, which saw Ofwat approving an additional £15m capital investment to accelerate the pace of the upgrade, to the initial £40m investment at the site.
