A project is set to start that will see significant concrete repair work carried out on several sections of a 110km aqueduct stretching from Haweswater Reservoir in the Lake District to Manchester.
United Utilities has announced the winning consortium for the repair of the aqueduct, which serves some communities in Cumbria, Lancashire, and Manchester, Construction Enquirer reports. The STRABAG Equitix Consortium won the contract against two competitors.
Transformation and strategic programmes director for United Utilities Neil Gillespie commented: “This is a significant milestone in our journey to replace the Haweswater Aqueduct tunnels,” which he said would guarantee a “reliable supply of drinking water” for customers in the north-west long into the future.
The project aims to repair key points in the underground aqueduct, which, like the older Thirlmere aqueduct from the 1890s, uses gravity to send its waters southwards. Work will start in the second half of this year.
Extensive concrete repair work will be involved in the project, with six sections of tunnel being replaced. Planning permission is now in place to carry out work at nine sites, which will include significant tunnel boring work, like the 19 km Haslingden and Walmersely tunnel set to be excavated in Lancashire.
Additional work will include grouting to maintain ground stability in sections adjacent to historic mines.
The Haweswater Aqueduct dates back to the 1950s and may be one of many extensive pieces of water infrastructure across Britain that need repairs. United Utilities established what needed to be done in this case after an extensive survey.
Haweswater Reservoir was created between 1937 and 1944 through the construction of a dam that increased the depth and surface area of the existing Haweswater in the east of what was later to become the Lake District National Park.This forced the abandonment of the village of Mardale Green, traces of which can still be seen in drought conditions when water levels are low.