Innovative pipe installation to protect the environment

Protecting the environment was at the centre of South East Water’s inventive method of installing new water main.

Pipe was threaded beneath a river and wetland to avoid damaging environmentally sensitive land.

South East Water installed the water main beneath the River Hart and a neighbouring field, a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), near Pale Lane in Winchfield, Hampshire.

The innovative method saw the company create a tunnel deep underground – approximately 200 metres in length – before pulling the pipe through.

Matthew Cooper, South East Water Project Manager, said: “Protecting and enhancing the environment is at the heart of everything we do.

“Traditional pipe installation methods would have involved digging up a vast amount of environmentally-sensitive land which we knew we had to avoid.

“By tunnelling the pipe underground we avoided causing significant damage to the land so I’m really pleased with the final result.”

The work formed part of South East Water’s £11 million project to install nearly 12 kilometres of pipe between Fleet and Odiham.

It will strengthen the capacity of the network and allow the company to pump more water through the area as the population grows.

The project features several innovative methods of protecting the environment, including using sniffer dogs to detect great crested newts so they are not harmed by the ongoing construction.

Matthew continued: “We’re still making great progress with our project. Having started in 2021 we are now approaching the second and final year of the scheme.

“More than half of the total pipe has been installed so far and while we understand there has been some disruption to the local community, we know our customers will really benefit from this work in the long run.”

The work forms part of South East Water’s pledge to invest more than £433 million into improving its water network between 2020 and 2025.

For more information on the project, visit: southeastwater.co.uk/fleet

You can watch a video of the pipe being installed by clicking here(opens in a new tab).