The scheme involves the purchase of land and abstraction licences for the boreholes and the construction of a new water treatment works, and infrastructure to deliver a yield of up to 20 Ml/d which reduces the current reliance on Burham WTW.  This scheme will improve resilience in supply.

The water treatment works will make use of two existing boreholes, pipework and storage tank already at the site, three new boreholes located north of the M20, and three new additional boreholes located south of the M20.

The new works includes wastewater handling, cartridge filters, GAC filtration, sodium hypochlorite and chlorine dioxide dosing, UV disinfection, standby generation, HV transformer and site power, contact tank, sedimentation tank and backwash tank, surge vessel and SEMD security.

SEW had engaged Murphys on a separate PSC contract to undertake the RIBA 3 design, which has been incorporated as the Contractor’s Design within the Engineering Construction Contract to deliver the scheme through to completion.

M&P have been engaged throughout, from feasibility and outline design phases to producing budget cost estimates and cost plans, contract preparation, managing risks and value engineering and carrying out regular commercial and programme meetings.

Key challenges to the project were obtaining the volumes of abstraction water to be able to commission the plant at 20 ML/D. Financial pressures from the Employer necessitating stop and restart work instructions and dealing with high levels of water ingress into deep excavations which required temporary discharge and abstraction licences and temporary works to recharge the aquifer.