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Geotechnics

Geotechnics are one of the UKs largest independent Ground Investigation contractors employing over 100 people across our four offices in Leeds, Chester, Coventry and Exeter covering projects throughout the UK matching the right equipment and experienced personnel for each project wherever the project may be.

Established in 1983 we provide the full spectrum of geotechnical investigation and advisory services to the water industry delivering innovative, award winning, quality and environment assured, sustainable solutions based on a culture of ongoing training, innovation and investment in our personnel and partnering with our wide client base. With 40 years of experience, it is easy to see why we are the Ground Investigation Specialist of choice to the Water Industry.

Working on pipelines, outfalls and pumping stations, whether it’s onshore, offshore or nearshore and delivering multi-million pound GI’s, we have gained industry-leading knowledge about the challenges of the sector, from early engagement and collaboration, stakeholder engagement and environmental protection to difficult access. We are experienced in getting drilling rigs and engineers into difficult locations; dam walls (helicopter and crane lifts), beaches, tidal mudflats, jack-up platforms, national parks, towns, villages and cities.

We are keen to get involved in project discussions as soon as possible to better understand the aims and goals of the project, stakeholder expectations and to help advise on the most appropriate ground investigation techniques to deploy and any special access/environmental sensitivities that may exist.

We are key members of the AGS and hold UVDB for the water industry, hold Constructionline Gold accreditation, are successfully accredited for CyberEssentials and we have completed, and received the certificate for, the social value question set on Constructionline.

North Wales Sludge Strategy & Five Fords AAD (2018)

Welsh Water set out its vision in its Sewage Sludge Strategy 2040 how it intended to deal with the number one waste management challenge all water utility providers face, the sustainable management and disposal of wastewater sludges. With ever tightening nutrient and heavy metal limits on agricultural usage, and more pressure than ever for companies […]

Lletty Brongu & Ruthin STWs (2021)

Welsh Water raised a programme of quality schemes for completion in AMP6 to address tightening of phosphorus permits set by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) at ten wastewater treatment works. Some of the sites in the programme were subject to a new total phosphorus (TP) permit of 0.5 mg/l T-P and required the installation of a […]

Cardiff Western District SPS (2022)

Cardiff Western District Sewage Pumping Station (CWD SPS) receives sewage from the western area of Cardiff for onward pumping to Cog Moors WwTW via twin rising mains. The pumping station is a strategic asset and is operationally critical to Welsh Water. Failure of this asset would have severe business impacts. During AMP6, a root cause […]

Glascoed WTW (2018)

Welsh Water’s Glascoed Water Treatment Works (WTW) is situated south of the village of Bodelwyddan in the county of Denbighshire. It was commissioned in 1994, with additions made in 1995 and 2009. The works supplies up to 20 Ml/d to customers along the North Wales coast. The works receives its supply of raw water from […]

Llyn Brenig Reservoir (2020)

Llyn Brenig impounding reservoir is located in the Denbigh Moors in North Wales. It was constructed in 1975 and was officially opened by the Prince of Wales. It forms part of the River Dee regulation to manage flow into the Dee via the Afon Alwen. The reservoir has a capacity of around 60 million cubic […]

Lower Neuadd Reservoir (2021)

Lower Neuadd Reservoir is located in the Brecon Beacons, 5km north of Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales. The reservoir, which is an embankment dam, was constructed in 1884. It is the middle of a cascade of three reservoirs, with Upper Neuadd situated 3km upstream of the much larger Pontsticill Reservoir. Lower Neuadd Reservoir had a […]

Plas Uchaf Reservoir (2022)

The construction of Plas Uchaf Reservoir was completed in 1870. It has an embankment dam that is approximately 15m high, with a puddle clay core. It has a retained capacity of 225,500m3 and a surface area of 3.5ha. The reservoir is formed across a tributary of the River Elwy, with Dolwen Reservoir located approximately 0.7km upstream of Plas […]

Prioress Mill Raw Water Pumping Station (2018)

Prioress Mill Raw Water Pumping station (RWPS) is located in Rhadyr, near Llancayo, Monmouthshire, on the south bank of the River Usk. It abstracts at a rate of up to 318 ML/day, and is the primary supply to Llandegfedd reservoir, which then feeds Sluvad Water Treatment Works (WTW). Prioress Mill RWPS has been identified by […]

Talybont Reservoir (2019)

Talybont is a Large raised reservoir situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park approximately 30 miles north of two of the most populated cities in Wales; namely Cardiff and Newport. Construction of Talybont Dam began in 1932 and ran through until 1939. It was conceived out of a requirement to supply treated water to the […]

Usk Spillway Upgrade (2018)

Usk Reservoir in Brecon is situated south east of Llandovery and approximately 5km to the west of Sennybridge. The reservoir is an existing 12.3Mm3 reservoir in the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales. It is impounded by a 31m high, 480m long embankment dam with a clay core, which was constructed in 1955. The […]

Ynys-y-Fro Lower Reservoir (2022)

The Ynys-y-Fro Reservoir system is situated 1km north-east of High Cross, Newport. The system comprises two reservoirs in cascade: an upper ‘subsiding’ reservoir and a lower ‘old pond’ reservoir. The upper reservoir is immediately upstream of the lower reservoir. The lower reservoir was constructed as an earth embankment dam and was built for the supply […]

Finham Advanced Anaerobic Digestion (2023)

Finham STW, situated near Coventry in the West Midlands, is Severn Trent’s fifth largest wastewater treatment works and treats over 115 megalitres of effluent a day from half a million people. The works processes indigenous sludge on site as well as accepting exports from local, satellite sites, producing final effluent, ‘cake’ and biogas as outputs. […]

Ledbury & Brockhampton STWs (2021)

Both Ledbury and Brockhampton are medium sized works (c15,000 PE) serving the catchments of Ledbury and Cheltenham respectively. Each site was subject to a first-time phosphorus permit with Brockhampton receiving higher flow to full treatment and a tighter BOD permit, and Ledbury having significant growth projected in the catchment. Both sites both required new tertiary […]

Newark Waste and Water Improvement Project (2020)

Severn Trent have made a £60m investment in Newark-on-Trent upgrading the sewers and water supply network throughout the town. The project provided relief to some 400 homes and businesses from sewer flooding, and provided a robust water supply system which will serve the town for many years to come. The project included a 2.8km segmental […]

BRP - Raw Water Project - Birmingham Resilience Project (2018)

The Birmingham Resilience Project aims to deliver a new water supply into Birmingham to allow extended planned maintenance shutdowns of the Elan Valley Aqueduct (EVA) as well as providing a back-up for any emergency events. The new supply will be brought into use every other year, for up to 50 days during months of October […]

BRP - Elan Valley Aqueduct (Nantmel and Frydd Wood) - Birmingham Resilience Project (2018)

At the height of the industrial revolution, Birmingham’s population was booming. Between 1800 and 1900, the city had grown substantially. An innovative solution was needed to provide its residents and industries with safe drinking water. James Mansergh had identified the Elan Valley as a source for water. With Birmingham located so far in land, the […]

Anchorsholme Long Sea Outfall (2019)

Anchorsholme Park is located on the coast 4 miles north of Blackpool Tower. The long sea outfall (LSO) project is the third of three phases contributing to improving bathing waters on the Fylde Coast. The objective of the overall scheme is to complete the AMP6 obligations on the Fylde Coast of the ‘moving towards three […]

Anchorsholme Outfall Pumping Station (2019)

Anchorsholme Park is located on the coast 4 miles north of Blackpool Tower. The outfall pumping station project is the second of three phases contributing to improving bathing waters on the Fylde coast. The objective of the overall scheme is to complete the AMP5 obligations on the Fylde Coast of the ‘moving towards three spills […]

Blackburn and Darwen WwTWs (2018)

Following on from the Blackburn and Darwen WwTWs (2017) article, the site at Samlesbury, Blackburn, has been prepared for the construction of the 72,000m3 structure which will house the innovative Nereda® aerobic granular biomass technology. The Nereda® system will treat crude sewage that has only received preliminary treatment and has been developed to treat the […]

Blackburn and Darwen WwTWs (2017)

Blackburn and Darwen WwTWs are two of United Utilities’ major treatment works and are located near the former mill town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The Blackburn and Darwen WwTW Integrated Solution (BDIS) project combines new river water quality and bathing water drivers at these two works into a single integrated project. The integrated approach will give […]

Chorley WwTW (2018)

The town of Chorley, in Lancashire, is mainly residential and much of the surrounding land is dedicated to agriculture and heritage buildings. Chorley Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) is located close to a small number of residential houses with a shared access road. C2V+, a joint venture between CH2M (now Jacobs) and VolkerStevin, was awarded a […]

Davyhulme WwTW Modernisation Project (2019)

Davyhulme Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) is United Utilities (UU) largest, serving over 1.3 million customers across Greater Manchester. Built in 1894, it has seen continuous development in wastewater treatment including the invention of the activated sludge process (ASP) by Ardern & Lockett in 1914. Incoming flows from the combined sewer network can reach 30m3/s, the […]

Davyhulme WwTW Modernisation Project (2017)

Davyhulme WwTW is United Utilities’ largest wastewater treatment works, which serves over one million people in Greater Manchester; it has been undergoing a £200 million modernisation process, which started on site in 2015 and is now close to construction completion. The upgrade is required to ensure it complies with tighter discharge consents and the impact […]

Ellesmere Port WwTW: Essar Upgrade (2022)

The large industrial town of Ellesmere Port in Cheshire is experiencing population growth, thanks to good transport links and an array of employment opportunities. The local population is set to rise by a further 10% by 2036, to over 76,000, so upgrades to the Ellesmere Port Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) are necessary to cope with […]

Ellesmere Port WwTW: Essar Upgrade (2020)

The large, industrial town of Ellesmere Port in Cheshire is experiencing population growth, thanks to excellent transport links and an array of employment opportunities. The local population is set to rise by a further 10% by 2036, to over 76,000, so upgrades to the Ellesmere Port WwTW are necessary to cope with increased throughput. The […]

High Frequency Risk Reduction: Garstang Road (2021)

In the PR19 agreement, water companies were encouraged to provide resolution to long-standing flooding problems being experienced by customers – but allowed a less prescriptive approach on the actual projects defined in the Water Company’s (WCo’s) Price Review submission. This new process allowed WCo’s a degree of discretion on the number and frequency of flooding […]

Kendal WwTW (2019)

Kendal WwTW is the main treatment facility for the area servicing a large residential and tourist catchment, with a population equivalent of 82,384. The works has an existing consent of 25 mg/l biological oxygen demand (BOD) 45mg/l suspended solids, 5 mg/l ammonia, and an annual average phosphorus permit of 1 mg/l, with a flow to […]

High Frequency Risk Reduction: Moor Road (2022)

In the PR19 agreement, water companies were encouraged to provide resolution to long-standing flooding problems being experienced by customers – but allowed a less prescriptive approach on the actual projects defined in the Water Company’s Price Review submission. This new process allowed the water companies a degree of discretion on the number and frequency of […]

Morecambe WwTW Catchment Strategy: Part 3 (2020)

Operated by United Utilities, the Morecambe sewerage system collects at Schola Green Wastewater Pumping Station (WwPS) located in the west end of the town. From there, flows for treatment are pumped via a 6km long pipeline to Morecambe Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW), which is situated to the south, near to the village of Middleton. Both […]

Morecambe WwTW Catchment Strategy: Part 2 (2019)

United Utilities’ Morecambe sewerage system collects at Schola Green Wastewater Pumping Station (WwPS) located in the west end of the town. From there, flows for treatment are pumped via a 6km long pipeline to Morecambe Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW), which is situated to the south, near to the village of Middleton. Both sites have sea […]

Morecambe WwTW Catchment Strategy: Part 1 (2018)

The Morecambe sewerage system collects at Schola Green Wastewater Pumping Station (WwPS) located in the west end of the town. From there, flows for treatment are pumped via a 6km long pipeline to Morecambe Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW), which is situated to the south, near to the village of Middleton. Both sites have outfall pipelines […]

Preston WwTW (2018)

Preston WwTW serves a population in excess of 250,000 and has six sub-catchments: Lytham, Fairhaven and Freckleton within the Fylde District to the west, Lea Gate and Watery Lane to the east within the Borough of Preston and Penwortham to the southwest within the South Ribble District. United Utilities (UU) has invested £20m during AMP6 […]

Alston Spade Mill Pipeline (2022)

The Alston Spade Mill Pipeline project forms a key part of the United Utilities AMP7 programme and will ensure that the currently untapped resource at four local reservoirs in Lancashire is utilised and will boost the available water in the network without having an additional impact on the environment. Currently the four reservoirs have been […]

Haweswater Aqueduct, Hallbank Tunnel Replacement (2021)

The Haweswater Aqueduct (HA) was constructed by the Manchester Water Corporation between 1935 and 1955 to provide water from Haweswater Reservoir to Heaton Park Reservoir in Manchester. The aqueduct was initially designed to convey 105 million gallons per day to allow for future increase in demand and is constructed of 8’ 6” concrete lined tunnels […]

United Utilities Filtration System Replacement (2022)

In May 2018 United Utilities appointed Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB) to deliver an NEC Option A design and construct project for the upgrade of one of their water treatment works (WTW) in the northwest of England. The project scope comprised upgrade of several key treatment processes to ensure compliance with Badenoch and Bouchier performance recommendations […]

Horwich WwTW (2022)

Advance-plus, a joint venture between MWH Treatment, J Murphy & Sons and Stantec UK, are currently delivering a project at Horwich WwTW on behalf of United Utilities. The project is required to deliver the Environment Agency’s Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) and takes into consideration future population growth based on a 2035 design horizon. […]

United Utilities Maintenance Service Provider Framework (2022)

As the UK’s largest listed water company, United Utilities aspires to ensure resilience of its network to the effects of climate change, improving the quality of wastewater effluent and providing a reliable and wholesome drinking water supply to its customers. To help drive greater efficiency and innovation in its network, United Utilities appointed Costain as […]

Springs Impounding Reservoir (2017)

United Utilities (UU) is the statutory undertaker for 132 impounding reservoirs (IRs) retained by earth-fill embankment dams which fall under the requirements of the 1975 Reservoir Act. Before the era of ‘Pennine’ type clay core construction techniques, many impounding reservoirs that were constructed around the turn of the nineteenth century were substantially homogenous, comprising of […]

Upper Chelburn Impounding Reservoir (2018)

Upper Chelburn Impounding Reservoir (IR), located near Rochdale on the east Lancashire moors, is owned and operated by United Utilities (UU), providing compensation water to the nearby Rochdale canal. The reservoir is impounded by northern and southern earth-fill embankments (Figure 1), with a resulting capacity of 236,000m3. The 16.5m high northern embankment was constructed between […]

Woodgate Hill Service Reservoir No. 2 (2018)

Woodgate Hill Service Reservoir No. 2 (SR2) was commissioned in 1963, providing a total capacity of 269Ml and a throughput that equates to 20% of the regional water demand. The reservoir was built in to the hillside with an excavation of around 380,000m3. With a footprint of 47,000m2, at the time of construction, Woodgate Hill […]

Geotechnics Ltd: Time-lapse (Keswick, Cumbria)

What we do:

Mapping & Modelling: Geotechnical Surveying

Project Planning & Surveying: Geotechnical Drilling | Hydrological Drilling & Well Services | Site Investigation