Waterland is an outdoor pursuit’s facility located at Keynes Country Park near Cirencester within the stunning Cotswold Water Park. The organisation offers a wide range of land and water based activities for families, schools and youth groups as well as hosting local and national triathlon events. Waterland contacted Owls Hall Environmental when the cost of emptying its cesspit began to exceed £15,000 per year. The organisation needed a more efficient solution that would protect the sensitive local environment where the treatment plant would be located while also meeting Local Authority requirements and Environmental Agency standards.
“Owls Hall Environmental are first class installers. They took care of everything and I didn’t have to do a thing.” Peter Pendlebury, Director at Waterland.
Expert installation
Given the location of the installation it was no surprise to our team that groundwater levels were high at the Waterland site. A gravity discharge system was preferable making a partial above-ground system the best option. Despite the high water table we were able to use innovative design and installation techniques to avoid the need to use expensive shoring. This approach also helped us to reduce the installation time and to complete the project before Waterland’s Christmas break.
When installing the NuDisc treatment plant we also included a seasonal soakaway prior to the watercourse. This helps during the wetter months of the year and ensures that the resulting water is comfortably clean enough for discharge into a nearby ditch.
Protecting the environment and supporting the local economies
We believe it’s important to support local economies. We use local suppliers whenever possible and we work hard to reduce our environmental impact. Situated in an area of natural beauty and known for its wildlife and clean fresh water, it was crucial for Waterland that our installation would keep the area clean and free from pollution.
“The office staff were brilliant. Nothing was too much trouble and I can’t think of a single thing they could have done differently.” Peter Pendlebury, Director at Waterland.
Following the correct processes
Having worked on many projects of this nature we ensured that all of the required permissions were sought for the Waterland site, this work included:
A smart investment
Like many of our installations, we first became involved in this project following a professional recommendation. Having worked with Huber Technology, the state-of-the-art provider of equipment for municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment we were asked to visit the Waterland site. After a comprehensive site survey we were chosen to be the installers for the project.
We’re qualified to work in confined spaces which means we were able to reduce the cost of the project by converting the existing cesspit to a 24 hour pump chamber, removing the need for Waterland to purchase an additional pump station.
Waterland’s new treatment plant will provide cleaner services for many years, reducing the need for emptying and better protecting the sensitive local environment that it serves. It will also reduce its long term costs significantly with its investment in the project expected to be returned within just five years.
