£22 million project to improve water supply

Jul 31 2008 by John Rowbotham, Hamilton Advertiser

WORK is well underway on a £22m project to improve water quality for 326,000 users across South Lanarkshire.

Daer and Coulter Water Treatment Works, in the south of the county, are being upgraded.

Balfour Beatty are building a 9m-litre clear water storage tank at Daer, and have already completed the base.

Senior project manager Dave Lavery, of Scottish Water, who are behind the investment, said that following the construction, the amount of water produced at the Daer works would increase from 114m litres a day to 129m litres a day.

As Lanarkshire continues to expand, these additional 15m litres will prove significant, he added.

Improvements are also being made to the filtration process at Daer.

Ten filters will be upgraded increasing both the speed at which water can be treated and the amount that can be treated.

Work has now been completed on the first of these 10 filters.

Mr Lavery added: "We use a special kind of sand which allows the raw water to rapidly filter through, removing grit and particles as it progresses.

"The company from which we source the product also sells sand to Saudi Arabia, among other countries.

"You would think that they had enough sand in that part of the world, but it's a very different kind of medium needed for this process."

Work is also well underway at the Coulter Water Treatment Works, near Biggar, where more than £6m is being invested.

Initial work on the Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) plant has begun, with the multi-layered base unit now complete.

Mr Lavery believes that this investment will prove to be a significant investment for the company's 26,000 customers in Biggar, Carnwath, Forth and Wishaw.

He added: "Once this £6m improvement programme is completed next Spring, Coulter Water Treatment Works will supply 14 million litres of clear, fresh drinking water every day.

"While the works is much smaller than its neighbour Daer, it is no less significant for its customers.

This community, which spans the North and South Lanarkshire border, is expanding rapidly and additional capacity will help the region to thrive and grow."

Later in the year, construction will begin on the main building to house the DAF plant, filters, pumps and control units.

The base of the Daer Clear Water Storage Tank (CWT) takes up an area half the size of an average football pitch.

and contains around 440 tonnes of concrete and 90 tonnes of reinforcement.

One of the crossover pipelines at the CWT is roughly the same height as a Mini.

THE areas which are served by each water treatment works are as follows: Daer - Crawfordjohn, Douglas, Coalburn, Dalserf, Canderside,Langlands, Wanlockhead, Leadhills, Crawford, Muirkirk, Simpsonland, Eddlewood, Woodhead Green, Mill Road, Burnblea, Hamilton town, Douglas Park, Wellhall Road, Almada Street, Chantinghall, Pollock Avenue, Udston, Comely Bank, Townhill Road, Earnock, Birkenshaw, Uddingston, Westburn, Flemington, Howieshill, Cambuslang town, Kirkhill, Whitlawburn, High Burnside, Burnside, Blairbeth, Cathkin, Maxwellton Avenue, St Leonards, Calderwood, Stewartfield, Vancouver Drive, Hairmyres, Nerston, Plaza, Arrotshole Road, Thorntonhall, Busby, Whitehills, Greenhills, Lickprivick, Mossneuk, Kelvin Industrial Estate, Muirhouse, Chapellhall East, Hewarthill, Cleland, Newmains, Crindledyke, Coltness West, Coltness, Templehall, Cambusnethan, Wishaw Central, Salsburgh, Eastfield, Springhill, Shotts North, East Airdrie, Shieldmuir, Knowetop, Dalziel, Motherwell Industrial, Motherwell South, Motherwell Central, Forgewood, Motherwell North, Tannochside Viewpark and Calderbrae.

Coulter - Biggar, Forth, Carnwath, North Wishaw.