Barratt Homes, one of the UK’s largest homebuilders, required a drainage solution which was to be approved by Yorkshire Water and which would be able to adapt to unique site conditions. The attenuation tank will provide storm water management for the new Springhill Meadows development, which will be home to 134 new properties and which lies just four miles south of the seaside resort of Scarborough.

Asset’s specialist water management solutions team provided a tank of 433 metres in length, utilising 2600mm diameter Weholite HDPE pipe to give a total storage capacity of 2300 cubic metres (approximately 2.3 million litres of water). The tank will be used to help reduce peak flow at the housing development by restricting the flow of excess water caused by heavy rainfall before releasing it gradually via an outfall back into the ground.

The installation of the storm water attenuation tank was complicated by poor soil conditions, as a result of high levels of running sand at up to two metres below ground level, a common problem in coastal areas. Asset recommended the use of 600mm crushed rock bedding to stabilise the trench bed, something that was approved by Yorkshire Water and has since proved to be extremely successful.

Jason Pritchard, Senior Technical Coordinator at Barratt Homes, commented:

“As we all know, flooding can have devastating effects on people’s lives and we will strive to ensure that this does not happen in our developments. This is why we have had the storm water attenuation tank installed at Springhill Meadows, which will be vital in times of heavy rainfall.”

 

Speaking about the choice of Weholite plastic tanks and pipes, Brian Norton from Norcon Construction, who were the principle contractors on the project, commented:

“Whilst Barratt Homes were responsible for the specification of the Weholite pipes we were more than happy with their choice and the technical support received by ourselves. The main criteria was the co-ordination of deliveries to installation, given the overall layout was some 1750m2, we were able to converse freely with their Transportation Office to avoid the necessity of a large storage area.

“The pipes were laid at a depth of 4 – 5 metres plus and their strength was never in question and complied very favourably with their specification. The pipes were easily managed, transported on site and installed and we would have no hesitation in recommending Weholite for similar schemes.”

Gareth Green, Technical Sales Engineer at Asset, said:

“The Springhill Meadows project demonstrates once again the versatility of our Weholite product and how it can be effectively used as a solution for flash flood risk areas.

“The attenuation tank was installed on site in a speedy and efficient manner so as not to hold up the dozens of other contractors on site, a particularly important requirement on such a large development, with so many moving parts.

“Our custom drainage solution provided the client with exactly what they were after and ensures the new Barratt properties are safe from flood risk.”

For more information about Weholite call Asset International 01633 273081 or visit www.weholite.co.uk