Scottish Water has started the six-month countdown to completion for the new £multi-million Water Treatment Works in Peebles following its off-site contruction hundreds of miles away.
The works, which was constructed off site by Ross-Shire Engineering at their factory in Muir of Ord, was transported nearly 200 miles by road in 17 sections. It is the largest of its kind in the UK and incorporates a range of new water treatment technologies.
The works, which is supplied with water from Megget Reservoir 18km away, houses four CeraMac Membranes which are able to effectively and efficiently treat large volumes of water to the highest standards. The membranes work by pushing the water through tiny holes which are many times smaller than a human hair, helping them to catch the smallest impurities in the water.
By building the works off-site, the team have been able to cut down the construction time, reduce the amount of construction traffic through the town and make savings on carbon. building’s roof, 50MWh of solar panels have been installed to help power the site.
Each of the 17 units, weighing up to 36 tonnes, were built to the largest width that could be transported by road without requiring closures and were escorted down the country by police. Daniel Sutherland from Ross-Shire Engineering said:
“This is the largest transportable treatment works ever built in the UK and getting it to site from our factory up North has been a real logistics challenge. It is brilliant to finally see the building in situ and to start the six-month countdown to it supplying water to the town.”
Keeping the carbon emissions down has been a key priority for the project team, including the installation of 50MWh of solar panels on the building’s roof to help power the site.
John Shaw, Project Manager for the works, said:
“The innovative technologies which have gone into this building are very impressive. From the construction methods, to the treatment equipment and the renewables, this has been one of the most exciting projects I have been involved in. I can’t wait to see it up and running.”
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