The system, which was put in place in the village of Albrighton in Shropshire, as part of an £8 million flood alleviation scheme funded by Severn Trent Water, is unique because it is installed on a curve. 

Reducing flooding risk

Will Dorman, Grontmij’s project manager, said: “We are delighted to win this award; it reflects the hard work Grontmij, Balhale and Severn Trent have put into the scheme at Albrighton.

“Albrighton has experienced substantial flooding in recent years due to lack of capacity in the existing sewerage system, coupled with the volume of surface water flowing into a local brook. So it was important to design a system that would improve the capacity of the sewer network and control the water flow more effectively, thereby reducing the risk of flooding.

“The sewer network was on the main, busy high street in Albrighton so using an open-cut method would have meant massive disruption to the high street, hence why we planned a unique design for an on-line solution.”

Provision of specialist flood risk management services

As a specialist in sewerage design and flood risk management, as well as Engineering Design Framework partner for Severn Trent Water, Grontmij was appointed to carry out a site survey. This was followed by a thorough assessment of the area in order to determine the reasons for flooding and recommendations were made for alleviating the problem. In response to the consultancy’s findings, Grontmij designed a 1.8m diameter online storage tunnel pipeline, which was then built by contractors, Barhale.

Minimal disruption to local residents

Steven Jones, delivery manager for Severn Trent Water, said: “The design of the new system means that not only will residents in the town now benefit from a considerably reduced risk of flooding, but they have also had minimal disruption during implementation of the work. It’s not just the UKSTT who have acknowledged the work that has gone into improving the sewer system, residents of Albrighton have been highly appreciative of the environmental benefits this scheme brings and to the sensitive manner in which it has been designed and constructed. As a result, the Parish Council organised a supper party to express their thanks to the Severn Trent Water, Grontmij and Barhale employees involved on the project.”