en.Wedoany.com Reported - UK civil engineering firm Barhale has been commissioned by United Utilities to deliver a storm overflow reduction project in Bramhall, Stockport, as part of its Better Rivers investment programme.
The project aims to reduce the frequency of discharges from the Briarlands Combined Storm Overflow (CSO) into Micker Brook, a tributary of the River Mersey. The works involve constructing a new 1,000 m³ storage tank in a car park in Bramhall to intercept the sewer feeding the existing CSO, increasing local network storage capacity during heavy rainfall. The tank will be built using a segmental caisson structure with a diameter of 12.5 metres, sunk to a depth of 13.3 metres. Due to the site being in a high groundwater area, Barhale and United Utilities have worked together to finalise the design. The project also includes diverting an 825 mm diameter sewer pipe buried at a depth of 4 metres to accommodate the new tank.
Barhale is also responsible for the MEICA (Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Control and Automation) installation, including a new pumping station within the shaft, control equipment cabinets, control panels, telemetry systems, and incoming power supply. A twin rising main will connect the new infrastructure to the upstream network of the CSO chamber. The project is part of United Utilities' wider AMP8 investment programme, aimed at reducing storm overflow discharges and improving river water quality in the North West. United Utilities states that its Better Rivers programme has invested over £3 billion in storm overflow infrastructure, with a target to reduce storm overflow discharges by 60% by 2030, protecting and improving water quality across more than 500 kilometres of rivers.
Nick Curtis, Regional Director for Barhale's Northern region, said the project location and site conditions presented significant technical challenges, and the company is pleased to continue supporting United Utilities' AMP8 investment programme. Barhale is already active in multiple aspects of the programme, including constructing another smaller storm storage tank nearby in Cheadle, as well as two others in Merseyside. The investment aims to reduce overflow rates to below a one-in-ten-year event. The Bramhall project is scheduled for completion in early summer 2027. H2O Global News recently reported on Barhale's three-package programme under the Better Rivers initiative.
