A key stage has been reached in the £17million upgrade of one of Scottish Water’s main facilities that supplies drinking water to over 200,000 people throughout the North-east.
Started on Monday (10 Nov), 3,200 filters will be replaced at the Invercannie drinking water production plant near Banchory. Each membrane filter is about six inches in diameter and four feet in length and contains tightly-wound bundles of plastic fibres. Water is sucked through the filters at great speed, stripping out all impurities to leave clear, fresh drinking water.
Work began on the £17million upgrade in January this year with most of the civil construction work complete. The filter replacement and other technical improvements are now underway. The entire project is due for completion by the end of 2009.
Matthew Boyne, Project Manager for Scottish Water Solutions, said: “Replacement of the 3,200 membrane filters is crucial. The existing ones are reaching the end of their working lives and the new ones are better at removing colour so the consumer will receive a consistently clear supply. The membranes are being replaced gradually to allow the plant to continue operating – so the public won’t notice anything at their taps. This has been made possible by everyone working together – Scottish Water’s operational staff, Scottish Water Solutions and our contractors Bi-Water Leslie.”
Steve Scott, Scottish Water’s Communities Manager for the North-east, said: “Aberdeen and the surrounding area enjoy a high quality drinking water supply thanks to plants such as Invercannie, which dates from 1866 and has had numerous upgrades and additions over the years. The current project is a further improvement and will mean greater security of supply for all the customers and it will ensure good quality drinking water for many years to come.”
MORE RELIABLE AND EFFICIENT
At the moment, water from the River Dee is injected with ozone to remove colour then passed through seventeen large sand filters – each the size of a swimming pool. This system uses a lot of energy and can be very high maintenance.
The new system will improve reliability and efficiency. Invercannie produces around seventy million litres of drinking water a day, most of which is sent through an aqueduct to Scottish Water’s plant at Mannofield in the City of Aberdeen which also produces drinking water. A blend is then distributed around the region’s water mains.
The investment is part of Scottish Water’s 2010 Vision for Aberdeenshire – a £62million programme of improvements throughout the region providing more reliable supplies of clearer, fresher drinking water, enabling development and protecting the environment. Customers can find out more and comment on the improvements here: www.scottishwater.co.uk/vision2010.
