Cross country water pipelines - Finding a path through history

Overview

Water companies are under increasing pressure to reduce or cease abstraction from environmentally sensitive sources. The subsequent requirement for cross country linear schemes to link critical infrastructure assets presents significant challenges. Example schemes from across the Thames Valley will provide an insight in to how such projects are designed and delivered and the historical discoveries that await.

The presentation will discuss how water companies are challenged to rethink the way in which they meet the supply demand balance whilst protecting the environment. Abstraction licenses are often reduced or removed to protect the natural environment, but this results in the need to transfer water from alternative sources.

Designing, constructing and commissioning cross country water pipelines and pumping stations brings a significant amount of challenges through engineering, environmental, ecological and archaeological constraints. Solutions and route alignments must be developed to take account of all factors in parallel to deliver a sustainable solution for the long term. In the Thames Valley region, these schemes are exemplified by numerous environmental designations and unearthed archaeological remains, requiring inputs from a wide-ranging team of technical specialists.