Local firms deliver major Southern Water environmental project
Wight Building Materials at forefront of major project to reduce stormwater discharges into the sea
WIGHT Building Materials, the Isle of Wight quarrying business, are at the forefront of a major Southern Water project to reduce the discharging of stormwater into the sea off the Island. The firm is a key supply chain partner in the ongoing Southern Water scheme to greatly increase storage capacity at the wastewater treatment facility at Sandown.
By increasing the capacity of holding tanks, Southern Water can reduce the number of discharges into the sea when their systems become overwhelmed with storm water during heavy or prolonged rainfall.
The project recently reached a key milestone when the concrete base was poured into a new 17m deep x 17.5m wide concrete storm tank. The new infrastructure, the largest of seven such storm tanks on site, can hold 4,000m3 of water, if required.
The new base uses concrete specially developed at Wight Building Materials’ St George’s Down headquarters to meet Southern Water’s stringent requirements to resist sulphate attack from the surrounding ground conditions.
It contains ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) – a recycled by-product of the iron and steel-making industries that replaces 70% of the Portland cement normally used in concrete. GGBS is a sustainable, reduced-carbon and durable alternative to cement and, when combined with Island-sourced aggregates, minimizes the overall carbon impact of this project.
In total, 600m3, or 1,200 tonnes, of the specialist cement mix was poured into the base by Wight Building Materials in three sessions over a period of 30h.
John Pitfield, site manager with lead contractors Galliford Try, said: ‘I am an Islander myself, so it is great to be able to call on tried and tested local supply chain partners to play a role in delivering such an important local infrastructure project.’
Cameron Davies, project manager of subcontractor Active Tunnelling, added: ‘The fact is that without locally sourced concrete, this project would not happen. It is the support and professionalism of companies such as Wight Building Materials and C45 that make large infrastructure projects such as this possible.’
Steve Burton, general manager of Wight Building Materials, said: ‘The project highlights how crucial it is for the Island to be able to source and supply local materials to the construction industry.
‘We are delighted to be playing a part in supporting a project that is of such great importance to the local community. That we can do so is the result of our ability to meet the stringent specifications of major national customers by combining innovation with the ability to source local materials.’
Another Island civil engineering company, Whippingham-based C45, was also heavily involved in the project.
