The chalk geology of South-East England has had a unique influence on the history and engineering of the region. The rehabilitation of Thanet district's Victorian sewer system is a complex, longterm project undertaken to prevent groundwater contamination from sewage. MeasurIT is providing a large number of 100mm Tideflex valves to help ease the transition from the old to the new.
Project Details
Client: Southern Water
Design Details: approx. 50No. 100mm Tideflex valves, to date
(*Photo credit: © Rémi Jouan, CC-BY-SA, GNU Free Documentation License, Wikimedia Commons)
Kent sits on a chalk aquifer from which the Southern Water utility company extracts water supplies, and this project is necessary to protect the groundwater from potential pollution. Thanet groundwater is extremely vulnerable to contamination as substances are able to pass rapidly through the thin soils and cracks in the Chalk rock to the groundwater below the surface. Southern Water is upgrading the Victorian sewers across the Thanet area over the next ten years and has already started with key work in the Ramsgate area.
The sewers in Ramsgate were built more than 100 years ago by miners digging tunnels (adits) through the chalk up to 10m underground. These tunnels remain in place and continue to act as a conduit for the sewerage pipe network in the area. The old sewers in many places have been leaking sewerage into the tunnels, with the potential to seep into the groundwater. New manholes are being constructed and some existing manholes enlarged to allow work in the ground to rehabilitate existing sewers and install new ones.
The old sewers still have some rainwater draining into them from roof areas. The Tideflex valves will allow this to drain into the new sewers without risk of sewage backflow into the existing unsealed system, and without the regular maintenance necessary with flap valves.
Contact us for advice on drainage valves that provide longterm peace of mind.
