Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Limited is the main contractor for the metering programme. The company’s installation teams are using a vacuum excavator vehicle, which is around the same size as a refuse lorry, to dig holes in the ground where meters are being put in, rather than doing it manually. The vacuum excavator is supplied by the Conroys Group.
Once an area has been surveyed for gas pipes or electricity and telecommunications cables, any surface tarmac is broken up using a compressed air gun and an air lance, also powered by compressed air, is used to gradually loosen the ground underneath.
The ‘vac ex’ then sucks up all the earth and debris via a large hose for storage in an on board tank. The material is graded, ready for use in filling holes back in later on, with some parts, such as the tarmac, recycled.
Paul Sear, Southern Water’s Metering District Manager for Hampshire, said:
“Using the vac ex allows us to dig three feet deep holes for meters in under ten minutes, a job which could take a worker using a shovel and lots of elbow grease around an hour.
“It also means there are no piles of spoil left on the pavement, as well as fewer barriers and work vehicles in the area we are working in. That helps us keep things even tidier on site and further reduce inconvenience for customers.”
He continued:
“Another advantage of using the vac ex is that it makes things safer for our installation teams as, together with surveying, it helps reduce the chances of having a ‘service strike’, hitting a gas pipe or electricity cable, for example. This is something which can cause serious injury or even be fatal, and can lead to disruption for people living and working in the local area if repair work needs to be carried out.”
The vacuum excavator has been used to install meters in areas across Southampton over the past few months, including Thornhill, Town Hill Park, Upper Sholing, Regents Park and Millbrook. Southern Water is asking customers for their feedback before deciding whether to use the system more widely.
In a work programme lasting until 2015, Southern Water is installing 500,000 water meters for domestic customers across the South East to help ensure it can continue to supply quality water to a region officially defined as ‘water stressed’.
Over thirty thousand meters have been installed in Southampton since the programme began in earnest in late 2010, with a total of more than 110,000 having been put in across Hampshire, Sussex and Kent as a whole.
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