Pumps Help Bring United Utilities Facility Fully Up-to-Date

As part of its continuous investment programme to improve services to customers, water company United Utilities has completed a major project to upgrade Heronbridge Pumping Station, with help from SPP Pumps (UK).
 
The facility, which sits on the banks of the River Dee, near Chester, helps supply a huge amount of water into a number of areas in North West England. Part of the upgrade work was to replace existing pumps with a new more efficient system to ensure the long term security of supplies.
 
“For SPP, some of the key challenges included the sheer size of the four large vertical turbine pumps required, and the need to make them fit precisely with the existing foundations and pipework in a limited working space,” says Martin Bagg, Head of SPP’s Water Division.
 
“The installation also had to be carried out without halting the station’s operation. Crucially, we had to be sure to specify pumps capable of handling river water with a heavy sand content and delivering the necessary high performance, flexibility, energy efficiency and reliability where it really matters.”
 
Renowned as a leading manufacturer and global supplier of centrifugal pumps and systems, SPP won the contract not only to design and supply the pump equipment but to install it. “Because we were both the supplier and the installer, there was no split responsibility and our experienced installation team was able to ensure that all work was carried out to a high standard,” say Martin Bagg. “The overall development project was carried out very effectively in co-operation with United Utilities’ AMP5 partner GallifordTry-Costain-Atkins Joint Venture.”
 
SPP chose four BHR80-18 pumps for the job, designed for a duty flow of 772 litres per second and a duty head of 85 metres, and specified Siemens 860 kW motors. A custom-made headpiece was fabricated to match the existing foundation and pipework centreline. This required precision measurement and manufacture, as there was little scope for error, but SPP has had plenty of experience in meeting such demands.
 
Lineshaft enclosing tubes and a high-grade mechanical seal system were fitted to cope with the water’s high sand content. By using pump spacer coupling, SPP has allowed for future maintenance of the seal without having to remove the motor or thrust bearing. This is especially important in view of the site’s space restrictions.
 
Martin Bagg concludes: “As well as a highly effective and dependable pumping system, United Utilities has gained much greater energy efficiency across a wide and varied operating range. I am delighted by the results, which give an excellent demonstration of our ability to provide turnkey solutions for large-scale projects, and our commitment to solving customer challenges where it really matters.”