Black & Veatch Delivers £120M State-of-the-Art
Facility for Scottish Water Ahead of Programme and £10M Under
Budget
Redhill, UK (11 August 2008) -- Her Majesty, The Queen, accompanied by His
Royal Highness Prince Philip, officially opened the £120 million Milngavie
Water Treatment Works in Scotland recently by unveiling a commemorative plaque
in the presence of leading dignitaries, including senior leadership from Black
& Veatch.
Black & Veatch, a leading global engineering, consulting and
construction company, was the main contractor on the project, which provides
top-quality drinking water to 700,000 people in the Greater Glasgow area. The
state-of-the-art facility forms the largest water treatment investment project
in Scotland.
To mark the occasion, Scottish Water organised a grand luncheon with guests
that included Scottish Water executives and the project team, as well as
representatives from Scottish Water, Black & Veatch and other core team
partners. Also present were key stakeholders and VIPs, including Members of
Scottish Parliament, district councillors, the Environment Agency and
representatives from a local school who have been following the progress of the
scheme for nearly four years.
During her visit, the Queen was introduced to Black & Veatch
professionals, including Executive Managing Director for Black & Veatch’s
water business, Bruce Ainsworth and Managing Director, UK Water Utilities, Tony
Collins. She was also introduced to several members of the Black & Veatch
project team including Project Director, Mark Allan; Commercial Manager, Ken
McGregor; and Construction Manager, Bryan Mackie.
John Marshall, Black & Veatch Project Manager, explained the operations
of the lamella wash water recovery system, while Hugh Maclennan, Black &
Veatch Mechanical & Electrical Manager, had the opportunity to explain the
operation of the filter system to the royal party.
Reflecting on the day’s events, Bruce Ainsworth said, “It was truly an
honour to have one of our most high-profile projects be officially opened by
the Queen. Black & Veatch is proud to have contributed to this historic
scheme, which has resulted in Glasgow getting a new sustainable water supply
fit for the 21st Century.”
The multi-faceted Katrine Water Project includes an ultra-modern treatment
works, two covered reservoirs, a pumping station, a system of tunnels and
intake structures and a number of other network improvements to complement and
significantly extend the overall operation.
The project was delivered £10 million under budget and ahead of Scottish
Water’s time schedule.
Commenting on the royal visit, Ronnie Mercer, Chairman of Scottish Water,
later said, “I thought the team's efforts paid off handsomely, not just for the
royal party but for all the other guests. It was a special day for all
concerned and Scottish Water and Black & Veatch rose to the occasion”
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Notes for editors:
Key facts about the Katrine Water Project:
- The daily throughput of the new plant would fill 2,516,129 bathtubs.
- More than 4,400 kilometres of reinforcing steel bar has been used –
sufficient to stretch from Glasgow to Nova Scotia.
- Some 615 double decker buses could be parked in each of the two service
reservoirs.
- The footprint of the treatment works measures 8,600 square metres,
approximately 1.5 football pitches.
- The total amount of concrete amounts to about 110,000 tonnes – more than
the weight of 22,000 elephants.
- More than 70,000 cubic metres of excavated material plus 60,000 cubic
metres of spoil from Barrachan has been used to cover over and landscape the
Bankell reservoir.
- The Barrachan storage tank, which is approximately the same size as
Bankell, supplies elevated locations, mainly in the centre and west of
Glasgow.
History
Before the opening of the initial Loch Katrine Water Supply Scheme about 150
years ago, water was supplied to the citizens of Glasgow from barrels carried
around the city by horse and cart. Residents hand-carried water from private
wells and streams.
After thousands died in two cholera epidemics in 1838 and 1848, a bill was
introduced to Parliament to create the Loch Katrine Water Supply Scheme and
place the provision of water under municipal control.
The original plant was officially opened by Queen Victoria, The Queen’s
great, great-grandmother. This 150-year old plant is now no longer in operation
following the switch to the new water supply in October 2007. This was to
ensure that the daily service to homes and businesses remained uninterrupted
while the construction of the new plant progressed.
The water treated in the new works flows by gravity along 26 miles of
aqueducts from Loch Katrine to Milngavie. After treatment, water is stored in
the two cavernous reservoirs at Milngavie, Barrachan and Bankell, the latter
having been covered over with turf to blend in with surrounding pasture
land.
The new works is supplying people living in Glasgow, parts of West and East
Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire. During
the construction activity at the replacement plant, meticulous care was taken
to ensure that the delicate balance of the local environment was protected and
maintained.
In order to allay concerns about the project’s impact upon the surrounding
environment, the new works at Milngavie are partially below ground and screened
by trees and extensive landscaping. To further reduce the works' footprint and
therefore visual impact, Black & Veatch used lamella clarifiers rather than
cone sludge settlement tanks and relocated the filter gallery
pipework.
The Katrine Water Project won the 2007 Utility Industry Achievement Award
for capital project management.
About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is a leading global engineering, consulting and construction
company specializing in infrastructure development in energy, water,
telecommunications, management consulting, federal and environmental markets.
Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch develops tailored infrastructure solutions
that meet clients’ needs and provide sustainable benefits. Solutions are
provided from the broad line of service expertise available within Black &
Veatch, including conceptual and preliminary engineering services, engineering
design, procurement, construction, financial management, asset management,
program management, construction management, environmental, security design and
consulting, management consulting and infrastructure planning. With $3.2
billion in revenue, the employee-owned company has more than 100 offices
worldwide and has completed projects in more than 100 countries on six
continents.
Black & Veatch’s global water business provides innovative,
technology-based solutions to utilities, governments and industries worldwide.
Local project teams work with multinational water and wastewater treatment
process experts to address site-specific challenges through a broad range of
consulting, study, planning, design, design-build and construction management
services. The company’s Web site address is www.bv.com.
Media Contact:
Malcolm Hallsworth
01737 856594
07920 701764
hallsworthm@bv.com
24-hour Media Line:
1-866-496-9149
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