Royal Opening for Milngavie Water Treatment Works
Her Majesty The Queen officially opened Scottish Water’s new Milngavie Water Treatment Works on 3rd July 2008, which supplies 700,000 people in the Greater Glasgow area with top quality drinking water.
The £120 million Katrine Water Project delivered the state-of-the-art facility, the biggest water project in Scotland, to replace the original plant, built in 1859.
Almost 150 years ago it was officially opened by Queen Victoria, The Queen’s great, great-grandmother, bringing fresh water and health to the people of Glasgow.
(Picture courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, not for reproduction)
Ronnie Mercer, Chairman of Scottish Water, said: “We have built on this engineering excellence that made this public water supply possible in the Victorian age when much was being done to improve life in Glasgow.
“This is the jewel in the crown of the investment being delivered by Scottish Water throughout Scotland. We are extremely honoured that Queen Victoria’s great-great granddaughter can be present to mark our new investment in Glasgow’s health. This plant is bringing clearer, fresher drinking water that our customers can enjoy straight from their taps. ”
1859: the project team then...
Construction on the site of Scottish Water’s Milngavie reservoirs complex was devised to shoe-in with the operation of the original water treatment works.
This 150 year old plant is now no longer in operation following the switch to the new water supply in October, last year. This was to ensure that the daily service to homes and businesses remained uninterrupted while the construction of the new plant progressed.
2008: the project team now
Richard Ackroyd, chief executive, said: “This new treatment works - which is capable of supplying 240 million litres of top quality drinking water every day - will leave a lasting legacy for generations to come.
“We delivered this historic project while successfully safeguarding the ongoing community enjoyment during construction at our reservoirs complex, which is treasured by local residents as a valuable resource.”
Although retaining significant portions of the upgraded Victorian infrastructure for operational use, the multi-faceted Katrine Water Project mainly comprises an ultra-modern treatment works, two covered reservoirs, pumping station, a complicated formation of tunnels and intake structures and a number of other schemes which compliment and significantly extend the overall operation.
Delivered £10 million under budget and ahead of the original time schedule, the commissioning of the new treatment works resulted in Glasgow getting a new water supply fit for the 21st Century.
Equally, Scottish Water customers throughout the Greater Glasgow area are delighted with the clearer appearance and better taste of their new tap water, upgraded to European standards, following the commissioning of the plant late last year.
After treatment, water is stored in the two cavernous reservoirs at Milngavie, Barrachan and Bankell, the latter having been covered over with turf to blend in with surrounding pasture land.
The new works is supplying people living in Glasgow, parts of West and East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire.
The Project won the 2007 Utility Industry Achievement Award for capital project management.
Key facts about the Katrine Water Project:
The daily throughput of the new plant would fill 2,516,129 baths.
More than 4,400 kilometres of reinforcing steel bar has been used - sufficient to stretch from Glasgow to Nova Scotia.
Some 615 double decker buses could be parked in each of the two service reservoirs.
The footprint of the treatment works measures 8,600 square metres, approximately 1.5 football pitches.
The total amount of concrete amounts to about 110,000 tonnes - more than the weight of 22,000 elephants.
More than 70,000 cubic metres of excavated material plus 60,000 cubic metres of spoil from Barrachan has been used to cover over and landscape the Bankell reservoir.
The Barrachan storage tank which is approximately the same size as Bankell, supplies elevated locations, mainly in the centre and west of Glasgow.
History
Before the opening of the initial Loch Katrine Water Supply Scheme, water was supplied to the citizens of Glasgow from barrels carried around the city by horse and cart. Residents’ hand-carried water from private wells and streams.
After thousands died in two cholera epidemics in 1838 and 1848, a BiII was introduced to Parliament to create the Loch Katrine Water Supply Scheme and place the provision of water under municipal control.
The system of filtration used in the former treatment works during recent years did not differ greatly from the one constructed in Victorian times.
The water which is treated in the new works flows along 26 miles of aqueducts from Loch Katrine to Milngavie by gravity.
During the construction activity at the replacement plant, meticulous care was taken to ensure that the delicate balance of the local environment was protected and maintained.
