North West

Expanding Liverpool’s WWTW

A £200 million project to upgrade and expand the Liverpool Wastewater Treatment Works at Sandon Dock continues to make excellent progress.

The project is being implemented by United Utilities and will see the plant’s life extended for another 15 to 20 years through extension and improvement. The work is being completed by a consortium which comprises Costain, Galliford Try and Atkins (GCA) and is scheduled to reach completion in 2016.

The scheme is a significant project for both United Utilities and Liverpool and throughout the course of the works it is expected that up to 100 staff and 250 operatives will be involved on the site.

United Utilities Principal Project Manager, Lorne Large, said:

“It’s a state-of-the-art works and something Liverpool can be proud of. The River Mersey is in safe hands. We have put heritage at the forefront, if the site ever did go back to its original purpose of a dock.

“It’s the biggest single investment that United Utilities is doing in our current five-year programme. It’s a challenging build because we are working within the confines of the dock and preserving all the heritage.”

GCA Lead for Liverpool WWTW, Darren Dobson, said:

“This large complex project is being delivered in partnership with our client United Utilities. Our performance to date has been excellent and the team is now set up to ensure the project is successfully delivered and we achieve our project goals.”

As part of the project, Liverpool Wastewater Treatment Works will be extended into Wellington Dock, which has been dredged and filled with sand and approximately 1000 concrete piles which measure 20 metres in length. This new dock will include a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) process tank and a feed pumping station.

A new sludge treatment facility will be installed on the adjacent side of the dock and new inlet pumps will also be included to round out the project. The sludge will be used to generate gas which will fuel the combined heat and power plant, giving it the ability to generate 1-2MW of electricity.

Formwork and reinforced concrete specialist Bowercross Construction is responsible for the construction of the SBR on the Liverpool Wastewater Treatment Works project, as well as associated works. The company is on site throughout the entire scheme and views the project as a very important scheme for the area.

Bowercross Construction Commercial Manager, Paul Sullivan, said:

“This is a very good project to be involved in. The scheme is a high profile one and it is quite a demanding structure to complete.”

Paul added:

“At Bowercross Construction we are proud of our ability to deliver projects to our clients’ plans, in a safe and efficient manner.”

Earlier this year the project celebrated 500,000 man hours without Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR).

For more information on other United Utilities’ schemes, please visit: www.unitedutilities.com.

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