A state-of-the-art water recycling facility has begun operation at Island Roads’ Stag Lane depot.
The new facility will ensure water conservation is at the heart of Island Roads’ greatly expanded drainage cleansing function.
Through the highways PFI contract Island Roads has been able to enhance gully and drainage cleansing across the Island and has had up to five tankers and ten staff working out on the highway network. But while the capacity and scope of work in this area has greatly improved, Island Roads is making sure water is used as wisely as possible.
Over the next two years, Island Roads is planning to clean all 22,000 gullies and drainage systems Island-wide. While previously it had been the practice only to empty gullies and push some water through to clean, the ‘jet-vac’ process used by Island Roads blasts water at very high pressure through the system to remove build-up of silt and highlight any issues that may need addressing.
This enhanced cleaning makes gullies and drainage systems more effective and less likely to contribute to highway flooding. It also uses more water and that is where the new recycling facility comes in.
The water used to flush the gullies and drains comes from rainwater collected at the Stag Lane depot in huge 60,000 litre tanks. Alongside the rainwater, water recovered during the flushing process is also re-used through the new filtration and recycling facility also at Stag Lane.
Also at the Stag Lane site, when any vehicles are washed or any surface water appears in the yard, this too joins the recycling system. Re-using water in this way means only dry material is sent to landfill, greatly reducing the volume.
Dave Wallis Island Roads environmental services manager said:
“An important part of the Highways PFI contract is ensuring we manage our carbon and water footprints very carefully.
“It means that while the Island’s gully and drainage network gets a very high level of cleaning, this is done in a way that uses resources extremely carefully.”
