HydroSack® supports construction site from foul water entering public watercourse

SITUATION

On a construction site operated by the engineering company Costain, significant volumes of foul water was produced, and was at risk of entering the public water-course.

IMPLEMENTATION

Gravitas International were contracted to consult on and provide a pollution control system to prevent foul water from entering the public water-course. Site engineers assembled a drainage gully protection and bund using HydroSack®s and HydroSnake®s.

RESULTS

Foul water could be pumped away and disposed of safely, allowing the site to continue to operate.

‍

The Details

As part of a City-wide operation, the engineering solutions provider Costain has been contracted to manage the clean-up and repair of up to 50 railway and road bridges throughout Greater London.

Before the project began, Thames Water raised a concern during the preparation of the Ennersdale Road, Lewisham railway bridge, The underside of the bridge, which had become encrusted with guano, damaged paint/metalwork and trapped dead birds, required power washing before repairs and repainting can take place.

The run-off from the water used to power-wash the bridge presented a potential risk if allowed to drain into the local watercourse. Therefore, Costain was tasked with finding two solutions for the project: Protect a drainage gully located beneath the bridge and prevent any water run-off draining away from the site. For this task, Costain highlighted the use of the Gravitas HydroSack and HydroSnake flood protection products.

In a matter of minutes, site engineers were able to assemble a Li-shaped diversion wall around the drainage gully and a floodwall further down Ennersdale road to allow the contaminated water to be pumped away and be disposed of safely.

Before use, the HydroSacks and HydroSnakes weighed less than 0.5kg each, so we easily transported to site in bulk. The site engineers were able to inflate the products by immersing them in water for 2-3 minutes creating a water-impermeable barrier, keeping the contaminants at bay.

The main benefits of this method over the traditional sandbag are the ease of implementation, reduced risk of injury due to the bright coloured fabrics and ease of disposal - the HydroSack & HydroSnake contain wood pulp and super absorbent polymer, both of which are degradable after 6 months.

‍