The challenge
As one of the oldest and largest wastewater treatment works in Europe, Davyhulme was ready for modernization. But it needed to happen while keeping the plant fully operational.
As one of the oldest and largest wastewater treatment works in Europe, Davyhulme was ready for modernization. But it needed to happen while keeping the plant fully operational.
Working as part of a collaborative design and build team, we used innovative new techniques to achieve major time and cost savings and ensure a cleaner and greener treatment process.
Davyhulme will continue to provide safe, clean water for over one million people across the North West and is a vital asset for the local community and surrounding environment.
Having access to clean, safe water is often something we take for granted. When we turn on our kitchen tap, how many of us stop to wonder about the journey our water has been on? Fortunately, wastewater treatment works – like Davyhulme, in the North West of England – are working tirelessly in the background, processing thousands of litres of water every second. But they need investment and maintenance to ensure they continue to operate at their best. And as one of the oldest and largest works in Europe, Davyhulme was ready for modernisation.
The Davyhulme Treatment Works is considered to be the site where modern wastewater treatment was invented more than 100 years ago, and it continues to be a place of pioneering sewage treatment processes.
Providing clean water to over one million people in the North West, the plant is a vital asset for the local community and surrounding environment. However, with the key primary and secondary treatment containers of Davyhulme dating back as far as the 1960s, it was less effective compared to modern treatment plants. The constant tightening of regulations, accompanied by population growth, presented a risk of further inefficiencies if improvements were not made.
Long term reliability
The modernisation of Davyhulme saw previously abandoned land put to good use in the construction of six circular primary settlement tanks and a new Activated Sludge Plant with ten circular final settlement tanks.
This work provided a huge environmental benefit for the site, improving outflow and subsequently the quality of water entering the Manchester Ship Canal. Thanks to the use of the latest technology and the use of pre-cast elements, we have been able to ensure a cleaner and greener treatment process, the new and extended treatment works has brought increased reliability at reduced operating costs, ensuring that Davyhulme is capable of meeting the long-term demands of the Manchester and Northern Powerhouse area it serves.