Water and waste
We design, install and commission systems for clean water, wastewater, sludge, industrial water and waste to energy, bringing together process engineering, MEICA, automation and environmental compliance from feasibility through to handover.
Capabilities
Our engineers cover the whole project, from early technical definition to commissioning, compliance and continued improvement.
Process engineering and design
Concept through to detailed process, MEICA and mechanical design, including new treatment processes developed with partners.
Scope
- Mass balances, PFDs and P&IDs
- MEP design, including 3D CAD and BIM
- Piping specification and full pumping station design
- Biological, thermal and anaerobic stages
- Performance guarantees
Waste to energy and thermal treatment
Process design, automation and permitting for thermal degradation and waste-to-energy plant, from pilot to full scale.
Scope
- Mass balances, PFDs and P&IDs for scalable waste processing
- Siemens S7 TIA plant control
- Commissioning, optimisation and annual performance reporting
Installation
Process and MEICA installation integrated with civil works, from kiosks and pumping stations to CSOs and rising mains.
Scope
- Construction management of multidisciplinary site teams
- Pumping, pipework, treatment, electrical, instrumentation and control
- Quality assurance, RAMS and interface management
Commissioning and optimisation
Commissioning management, start-up, performance trials and operator training, with optimisation until the plant meets its guarantees.
Scope
- Start-up sequencing, testing and operator training
- Optimisation of sludge, disinfection, dosing and control systems
- Performance trials, troubleshooting and modification to meet guarantees
Automation and control
PLC and SCADA design and integration, functional design specifications, secure remote monitoring and advanced control logic.
Compliance, safety and environment
Environmental permitting and air quality modelling in CERC ADMS 5, with HAZOP, DSEAR, ATEX, PED and PSSR compliance.
Ecology and environmentScope
- HAZOP, DSEAR, and access, lifting and maintenance assessments
- UKHab classification and invasive species checks
- Evidence-based environmental reporting
- Carbon reduction planning
Ports and marine
Utilities, fire protection and service interfaces for ports, terminals and marine facilities, from a new dry dock at Tilbury to the Sea Lion drilling barge.
Waste management studies
Site surveys, emissions and noise assessments, authority consultation and option studies for existing waste sites.
Waste transport and logistics
Licensed transport of hazardous and specialist waste in ADR-compliant vehicles, including cross-border moves.
From concept to handover
We direct projects hands-on, from concept and tender through design, construction, commissioning and handover.
- 1
Design and R&D
We develop new processes with partners through research and development, then carry them into detailed design.
- 2
Installation
Our site teams manage multidisciplinary construction, with quality assurance, RAMS and interface control.
- 3
Commissioning
We commission, hand over and train operators, then optimise performance once the plant is running.
Environmental and regulatory integration
We carry out planning-stage environmental surveys, UKHab classification and invasive species checks, and coordinate the findings with clients, planners, ecology specialists and our HSQE team. Our ecology and environment services.
Treatment process experience
Our engineers bring design, installation and commissioning experience across these processes, in water and wastewater utilities, waste to energy, ports and marine, oil and gas terminals, and infrastructure. They have commissioned and optimised clean water and wastewater treatment works across the North West and North East of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and sludge treatment and incineration plants in Northern Ireland, North West England and Hong Kong.
On site
Selected projects
Named projects across utilities, waste to energy, ports, industrial sites and land remediation.
Tilbury maintenance depot
Uber Boat by Thames Clippers
A new dry dock with the utilities and building services it needs for year-round vessel maintenance, delivered from design to handover.
Project detail
- Challenge
- Uber Boat by Thames Clippers needed reliable utilities and building services for a new dry dock and fleet maintenance facility at the Port of Tilbury.
- Our role
- Integrated MEP design, installation, testing and commissioning, working for Southbay Civil Engineering.
- Scope of delivery
- Detailed MEP design, coordination and construction support
- LV distribution, panel boards, feeder pillars and metering
- LV distribution modelling and load shed management philosophy
- Potable water, drainage, pumping, hydrants and high-pressure washdown
- Foul water pumping station, control philosophy, system modelling and ICA
- External and emergency lighting, CCTV, access control and data networks
- Testing, commissioning, certification and handover documentation
- Client outputs
- Coordinated design, installed systems, test certification, O&M manuals and record drawings.
Redcar Bulk Terminal
1km of new barrier pipe and fire hydrants installed and certified while the terminal stayed in safe operation.
Project detail
- Challenge
- Install and certify new utility connections inside a live industrial terminal while keeping site operations safe.
- Our role
- Feasibility, design and installation of new water and fire-protection pipework, through to pressure testing and certification.
- Scope of delivery
- Feasibility and constructability support for pipe routes and connections
- Detailed design, piping routes, specification and selection
- Installation and electrofusion welding of 1km of Protecta-line MDPE barrier pipe, 90mm to 300mm
- Specialist interfaces between MDPE and ductile-iron components
- Hydrant assemblies and two-stage hydrostatic pressure testing
- RAMS, certification and coordination in a multi-contractor environment
- Client outputs
- Installed pipework, hydrant assemblies, pressure-test certificates and verification records.
Sea Lion Phase 1 interface
Noble Frontier
Seven supply lines connecting the shore facility to the drilling barge, designed for tidal movement and pressure tested at 1.5 times design working pressure.
Project detail
- Challenge
- Drilling fluids and services had to pass safely between the shore facility and the Noble Frontier barge for the Sea Lion offshore campaign.
- Our role
- Design of the service-line interface between the LMP, causeway and barge, including manifolds and flexible link connections.
- Scope of delivery
- Pipeline selection, design, modelling and system analysis
- Stress, pressure and temperature modelling and calculations
- Specification production, isometrics and weld specifications
- Flanged terminations, manifolds, dry-break connections and flexible link hoses
- Interface design for tidal movement, penetrations and barge connections
- Hydrostatic testing at 1.5 times design working pressure
- HAZOP analysis, construction coordination and operational procedures
- Client outputs
- Coordinated pipework design, interface details, equipment specifications, test records and handover information.
Enerj8 thermal degradation system
Enerj8
A thermal degradation plant taken from process design through permitting and commissioning, with annual performance and environmental reporting.
Project detail
- Challenge
- Enerj8 needed a waste thermal degradation system that would meet strict air quality and environmental regulation.
- Our role
- Process design, Siemens S7 TIA automation, permitting supported by CERC ADMS 5 emissions modelling, HAZOP and DSEAR, commissioning and annual reporting.
Sludge treatment R&D, Trowbridge STW
A pilot process that conditions sludge at high temperature and then vermicomposts it, turning a waste stream into useful outputs.
Project detail
- Challenge
- Show that a new treatment route can reduce sludge and recover useful outputs.
- Our role
- Pilot and process design, mass-balance modelling, process guarantees and regulatory engagement, with a basis for scale-up.
- Scope of delivery
- 12-day thermophilic pre-conditioning followed by 45-day vermicomposting
- Mass-balance modelling, pilot design and process guarantee development
- Washing to produce vermi-tea, with separated solids returned to the process
- Phase 1 algae trials, followed by assessment of a future fuel-upgrading route
- Regulatory engagement, PFAS management and planning for scale-up
- Client outputs
- Pilot design, mass balance, process definition, sampling plan, compliance pathway and scale-up basis.
Ground investigation and asset stabilisation
Settling assets stabilised with targeted repairs, avoiding major excavation and full replacement.
Project detail
- Challenge
- Find the cause of settlement in operational assets and stabilise them without major excavation.
- Our role
- Non-intrusive GPR and Lidar surveys, condition assessment and targeted repair design, managed in ProjectWise.
- Scope of delivery
- Non-intrusive GPR and Lidar surveys and detailed condition assessment
- BIM-led delivery with ProjectWise as the common data environment
- Review of shallow foundations, void migration, burrowing and adjacent routes
- Assessment of corrosion, local collapse and structural support conditions
- Targeted exposure, repair and stabilisation measures
- Ecological assessments, design risk assessment and construction-stage information
Bersham Colliery
A former colliery surveyed for planning, then remediated with recovered aggregate reused on site and habitats protected.
Project detail
- Challenge
- Prepare a former colliery for planning and future development, then remediate it without harming its habitats.
- Our role
- Planning-stage environmental survey, then Principal Contractor for excavation, aggregate recycling, remediation and a new borehole water supply.
- Scope of delivery
- Desktop review, site walkover, habitat classification and 360 degree imaging
- Assessment of contamination and planning constraints
- Principal Contractor duties under CDM 2015
- Excavation, on-site processing and reuse of recovered aggregate
- Design, installation and commissioning of a borehole water supply
- Ecological protection, RAMS review and planning close-out records
- Client outputs
- Planning-stage report, controlled excavation, recycled aggregate, ecological records and close-out documentation.
Waste site studies, UK and overseas
Five waste sites assessed across the UK, the Maldives and Poland, each with practical recommendations suited to local regulation.
Project detail
- Challenge
- Understand how waste was handled at each site, and its environmental impact, to guide better practice.
- Our role
- Site surveys, emissions and noise assessments, authority consultation, option studies, drawings and final reports.
