Stormwater Management in preparation for winter

Tuesday 20, July 2010

The past few weeks has seen our team busy completing a large project in West Norfolk.  There are a number of different elements of work associated with this project including a new horse arena, pond revetment work, fencing and gateway installation, new driveways and perhaps, most importantly, the replacement of an old Victorian storm drain. This final aspect of the project has been critical in ensuring that this area parkland doesn’t flood over the winter months.

We were involved in all of the design work from the outset, completing a detailed study of the existing Victorian drain including a CCTV survey of the drain which, at around 600mm in diameter and around 350m in length, represented a significant challenge.

It was estimated that the existing Victorian pipework had been in place for over 150 years – a considerable feat when you consider how long it has lasted!  The survey showed that the old brickwork in the route of the pipe had finally started to crumble and the walls of the culvert were splayed out where tree roots had grown on top of the route of the pipe.

William Morfoot Ltd conducted a detailed survey of the surrounding area and proposed an alternative route for the stormwater drain which would also act as an overflow to the lake in the centre of the parkland.  In spite of the long hot summer, the ground conditions have been very challenging and our team has had to contend with running sand at significant depth, whilst installing the pipes which presented taxing conditions in which to work.

As ever, the project has been successfully completed and work this week has switched to the arena which is due to be completed over the next week or so.