Draycote Reservoir Drawdown - Warwickshire
Overview
Job number: A7W/13069
Date : December 2021 to March 2024
Work type : Reservoir upgrades
A reservoir drawdown is the ability to lower a reservoir's water level quickly - this is vital to maintaining the safety of our reservoirs and of the people living and operating nearby.
Under Section 10 of the Reservoirs Act 1975, reservoirs are to be inspected every 10 years to identify safety concerns. In 2017 new guidance was published which recommended increasing reservoir drawdown capacity, to protect against reservoir failure..
The latest Section 10 inspection noted that the existing drawdown facilities at Draycote do not meet the current guidance and work is required to remedy this.
These works are a legal requirement and the site will be operational by December 2023, with work continuing on site until March 2024.
Construction
The objective of phase one of our project has been completed, which means that in an emergency the siphons can be used to drawdown the reservoir (A reservoir drawdown is the ability to lower a reservoir's water level quickly - this is vital to maintaining the safety of our reservoirs and of the people living and operating nearby). Our contractors have a few things to complete before they can fully leave site, which is expected to be the end of May 2024.
The circular route will be open from the 29 March 2024, ready for Easter. Construction works will still be ongoing in the Hensborough Embankment area, so visitors will need to stick to the path. Only the top path will be open at Hensborough Embankment, so there will be no access for vehicles in this area.
We are currently working on the plans for phase two of our project is, once these are finalised, we will return to begin the work. It might take approximately 12-18 months for the necessary approvals to be in place before phase two can start.
Our site compound will remain in place during the planning for phase two. We will however remove the site cabins.
Key dates
December 2021
Ground investigations undertaken
February 2021
Construction tender phase
October 2022
Construction phase
Works commenced on site on Monday 24 October 2022 near to the Hensborough Embankment and should take approximately 60 weeks to complete. At this time, works are only to take place within the boundaries of the Severn Trent Draycote Water site. Enabling works have been undertaken including the construction of a compound and storage areas, temporary access roads and crane platforms and some tree and vegetation clearance has been completed. Excavation works within the reservoir embankment are underway, some pipework has been installed and diving works to install new pipes in the reservoir will be underway soon
August 2023
Divers are currently installing the pipework in the reservoir, and we are carrying out work on the crest chamber. The crest chamber is used to house the equipment which will be used to get water out quickly in an emergency.
December 2024
The site will be operational by December 2023, with work continuing on site until March 2024.