Ashford Common water treatment works

Last updated

Ashford Common water treatment works is located in Ashford Surrey and supplies potable water to west London via the local distribution network and the Thames Water ring main. The works were constructed in the 1950s, and were modernised in the 1990s to increase the output.

Contents

History

In the immediate post second world war period it was envisaged the demand for water in London would increase significantly. In 1947 the Metropolitan Water Board proposed to construct a new water treatment works between Ashford and Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, (51.41772°N 0.43802°W) The works would draw water from the adjacent Queen Mary Reservoir or from the Staines Reservoir Aqueduct. [1] The plant and treatment processes would comprise: aeration of the feed water, fine screen filtration to remove algae, slow sand filtration, granular carbon treatment, sterilization and contact tanks. Rotating screens were identified as the most effective primary filtration for algal removal. [1]

By 1953 the Ashford Common works were under construction. [2] There were 23 micro-strainers and 32 slow sand filter beds each of about ¾ of an acre (3345 m2). The slow sand filters were cleaned on a 25 to 30 day cycle. This entailed skimming off the top 25 to 40 mm of sand which was cleaned and returned. The works were fully commissioned in 1958. The total treatment capacity was 108 million US gallons per day (409 Ml/d). The peak output was 480 Ml/d, higher flows up to 550 Ml/d were possible but significantly increased the frequency of filter cleaning. [2]

Modernisation

The Ashford Common water works operated effectively for four decades. In the early 1990s the projected increase in demand for water was met by increasing the hydraulic capacity of Coppermills, Hampton and Ashford Common water treatment works. [3]

The facilities at Ashford Common comprised: [3]

Subsidiary plant included Ozone generation, washwater treatment plant, and SCADA to monitor and control the flow of water.

With all these facilities operational the peak supply increased from 480 Ml/d to 690 Ml/d. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water purification</span> Process of removing impurities from water

Water purification is the process of removing undesirable chemicals, biological contaminants, suspended solids, and gases from water. The goal is to produce water that is fit for specific purposes. Most water is purified and disinfected for human consumption, but water purification may also be carried out for a variety of other purposes, including medical, pharmacological, chemical, and industrial applications. The history of water purification includes a wide variety of methods. The methods used include physical processes such as filtration, sedimentation, and distillation; biological processes such as slow sand filters or biologically active carbon; chemical processes such as flocculation and chlorination; and the use of electromagnetic radiation such as ultraviolet light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media filter</span>

A media filter is a type of filter that uses a bed of sand, peat, shredded tires, foam, crushed glass, geo-textile fabric, anthracite, crushed granite or other material to filter water for drinking, swimming pools, aquaculture, irrigation, stormwater management, oil and gas operations, and other applications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Water filter</span> Device that removes impurities in water

A water filter removes impurities by lowering contamination of water using a fine physical barrier, a chemical process, or a biological process. Filters cleanse water to different extents, for purposes such as: providing agricultural irrigation, accessible drinking water, public and private aquariums, and the safe use of ponds and swimming pools.

In the oil industry, waterflooding or water injection is where water is injected into the oil reservoir, to maintain the pressure, or to drive oil towards the wells, and thereby increase production. Water injection wells may be located on- and offshore, to increase oil recovery from an existing reservoir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slow sand filter</span> Water purification device

Slow sand filters are used in water purification for treating raw water to produce a potable product. They are typically 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) deep, can be rectangular or cylindrical in cross section and are used primarily to treat surface water. The length and breadth of the tanks are determined by the flow rate desired by the filters, which typically have a loading rate of 200–400 litres (0.20–0.40 m3) per square metre per hour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sand filter</span> Water filtration device

Sand filters are used as a step in the water treatment process of water purification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Water Ring Main</span> London water supply infrastructure

The Thames Water Ring Main is a system of approximately 80 km (50 mi) of concrete tunnels which transfer drinking water from water treatment works in the Thames and River Lea catchments for distribution within central London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapid sand filter</span>

The rapid sand filter or rapid gravity filter is a type of filter used in water purification and is commonly used in municipal drinking water facilities as part of a multiple-stage treatment system. These systems are complex and expensive to operate and maintain, and therefore less suitable for small communities and developing nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staines Reservoirs</span> Storage reservoirs in the United Kingdom

The Staines Reservoirs are two large pumped storage reservoirs sitting to the east of the King George VI Reservoir near Heathrow airport in Surrey within the Colne Valley regional park. The village of Stanwell is mainly to the north east, and the town of Staines is to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knight Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Surrey

The Knight Reservoir is a large pumped storage reservoir located in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey. It was inaugurated in 1907 and stores up to 2,180 million litres of raw water abstracted from the River Thames prior to its treatment and supply to London and north Surrey. It is located south of the River Thames, west of West Molesey, and between Hurst Road (A3050) and Walton Road (B369). It is adjacent to, and west of, its twin Bessborough Reservoir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London water supply infrastructure</span>

London's water supply infrastructure has developed over the centuries in line with the expansion of London.

Swimming pool sanitation is the process of ensuring healthy conditions in swimming pools. Proper sanitation is needed to maintain the visual clarity of water and to prevent the transmission of infectious waterborne diseases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanningfield Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Essex, United Kingdom

Hanningfield Reservoir is a large 25,500-million-litre (900,000,000 cu ft) pumped storage reservoir located between Billericay and Chelmsford in Essex. It has a surface area of 352 hectares and is owned and operated by Essex and Suffolk Water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worthington Lakes</span>

Worthington Lakes is a series of three reservoirs in the north of the borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester close to nearby Standish, off the A5106 Wigan to Chorley road in the north-west of England. They were constructed in the early 1860s to provide the clean water required by the rapidly growing town of Wigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walka Water Works</span> Building in New South Wales, Australia

Walka Water Works is a heritage-listed 19th-century pumping station at 55 Scobies Lane, Oakhampton Heights, City of Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. Originally built in 1887 to supply water to Newcastle and the lower Hunter Valley, it has since been restored and preserved and is part of Maitland City Council's Walka Recreation and Wildlife Reserve. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

The development of water treatment and filtration technologies went through many stages. The greatest level of change came in the 19th century as the growth of cities forced the development of new methods for distributing and treating water and the problems of water contamination became more pronounced.

The Walton water treatment works are an advanced purification works supplied with raw water and producing and delivering potable water to the locality and into the Thames Water ring main. The Walton water treatment works were initially built in 1907 north of the Bessborough and Knight reservoirs which supply the water works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coppermills Water Treatment Works</span> Water treatment works in east London

The Coppermills Water Treatment Works is a large water treatment works in the Lea Valley in east London. Completed in 1969 by the Metropolitan Water Board, it is now owned and operated by Thames Water. In 2009, Coppermills was connected to the Thames Water Ring Main via the Northern Extension Tunnel, enabling the facility to be a major supplier of water to the whole London area. It is capable of supplying a maximum of 680 million litres of water per day.

The Chingford South water treatment works is a 58 million litre per day water processing facility commissioned in 2005 and located adjacent to the Wiilliam Girling reservoir in north east London.

References

  1. 1 2 Schliessmann, D. J. (1948). "Public Health Engineering Abstracts". Public Health Engineering Abstracts. 28: 68.
  2. 1 2 Hazan, Richard (July 1953). "Application of the Microstrainer to Water Treatment in Great Britain". Journal of the American Water Works Association. 45 (7): 723–37. doi:10.1002/j.1551-8833.1953.tb20172.x.
  3. 1 2 3 Glendinning, D. J. (February 1996). "Uprating water treatment works supplying the Thames Water ring main". Water and Environment Journal. 10: 17–23. doi:10.1111/j.1747-6593.1996.tb00003.x.