DRAINAGE and wastewater specialist Lanes Group has revealed how it overcame difficult ground conditions to build a pumping station for a major new business park near Stirling that promises to create hundreds of jobs.
The excavation team from the company’s Glasgow depot installed a 7.5m deep wet well chamber and valve chamber at the Kildean Business Park.
Lanes carried out the excavation and installation project for Glasgow-based pumping solutions engineers Ritmac.
Kildean Business Park is a 39-acre site being developed by Stirling Council at Junction 10 of the M9 with office buildings of varying size.
Installation of the pumping station for the park’s sewer system had been planned as a spring-to-summer project.
However, the first phase of the works was brought forward to be carried out over winter months to support the construction of a large office building for a global insurance provider.
This, Lanes explained, added to construction challenges, including the need to overcome frost and high groundwater levels.
The first task was to carry out an excavation to allow the installation of a new 7.2m-deep wet well chamber.
To support this, 1,600 tonnes of spoil was removed to reduce the ground level by approximately 2m to accommodate an over-pumping system with a working capacity of between 5.5m to 6m deep.
A new haul road was also built with a geo-textile membrane and crushed stone to facilitate access to and from the main working area.
The main excavation could then begin. Well points and water pumps were installed to control groundwater during the dig-out process.
Trench supports using KD6 trench sheets and double-acting hydraulic rams were installed, along with ladder access and edge safe.
The new well was constructed with new 2,100mm x 1,000mm concrete rings, each one sandwiched with primer and a high-quality rubber-based self-adhesive seal.
The cover slab installed was designed and cast specifically for the chamber, while the excavation was backfilled with 6F2 hardcore, approved by Stirling Council.
The pumping station was completed with the construction of the new inlet manhole, valve chamber, kiosk, and permeable and non-permeable hard standing.
Lanes Glasgow depot manager Brian Kerrigan said, “We were very pleased to be working on an economically important scheme that promises to bring hundreds of new jobs to central Scotland. Building the pumping station demonstrates the capability and skill of our excavation teams in carrying out sizeable wastewater infrastructure projects like this.
“It was completed safely, on time, and on budget despite difficult weather and ground conditions that required us to put in place significant additional control measures.”
