Flood Defence - Climate Change case study

Elan Valley Aqueduct, Wales

Background

We were appointed as part of the BNM Alliance on a tunnelling scheme in Mid Wales that formed part of Severn Trent Water’s major Elan Valley Aqueduct project. The aqueduct is a pipeline running from reservoirs high in the Welsh mountains to Birmingham, and supplies a significant proportion of the conurbation’s water. 

Challenge

Certain sections of this 100-year-old piece of infrastructure have been replaced with new underground routes and one of these was around the village of Nantmel in Powys. Here, a 3m diameter TBM drove a tunnel almost 1km long under remote countryside.

Solution

Through site surveys, SRL’s infrastructure team quantified baseline noise levels at sensitive receptors around the drive and receptor shaft compounds. This assisted Barhale plc in optimising their compound layouts and work programme to minimise any disturbance to nearby residents.