Progress on our project to install the Layer to Langford Pipeline has been very good over these past few weeks and we have now laid 5km of the 20km route. This has enabled us to begin reinstating land and installing post construction land drainage in some areas to ensure the ground is returned to land owners is as good as, or in an improved condition compared to when we mobilised to site. In autumn of this year we will also begin to replant any hedgerows we removed to ensure the biodiversity value along the route is maintained.

We have now received the majority of the pipework required for the project and any large deliveries our communities may have observed will become a thing of the past.

We have now completed all of the archaeological work on the pipeline route and have found some interesting artefacts including Roman coins and pottery from the Iron and Bronze Ages. This generated interest from the BBC who wrote an article on the finds that can be located here….

Essex pipeline dig reveals Roman and Bronze Age settlements - BBC News

Whilst the weather has been kinder to us in the last few weeks than earlier in the year we have made good progress stripping topsoil, receiving pipe materials on site and putting pipe into the ground. We have now laid just short of 5km of the total 20km length and in some places we have already begun to reinstate topsoil and return land to landowners. Please keep your eyes peeled for the crews working along the route as they work hard to improve our service to you, our customers. 

You may have seen our teams working alongside the B1026 near to Abberton Reservoir over the last few weeks. This team has begun to install the 900mm diameter pipeline that we have been receiving from our suppliers over the last few months. Its here that the water conveyed by the pipeline begins its journey south towards Langford WTW.

We also welcomed BBC Essex on the 24^th April who were keen to see what we were up to, talk to our installation teams and out Water Director, and to then go on into Colchester to discuss Smart Meters with local residents. IT was a great experience for the project team and nice to show off this fantastic project to improve water resilience in Essex.

Despite the very wet start to the year our construction teams have been working hard to begin pipelaying activities along the pipeline route. We previously posted an update about the progress of topsoil stripping and whilst this continues, we are also starting to put pipe into the ground. This work has started at our Langford WTW, adjacent to the Museum of Power. We recently completed the connection of two of the mains we had previously installed under the River Blackwater and we are now laying away from these towards the Water Treatment works. 

In late March we will also being our archaeological mitigation work, having completed the trial trenching last year. The mitigation works will allow the archaeological teams to further understand the history of the area that our pipeline crosses. In total we have 21 areas where the local authorities would like us to complete further investigation work. These range from small area circa 20m in length up to areas that are 500m in length. 

Work started this week to strip the topsoil along the route of the Layer to Langford Pipeline in anticipation of the pipe deliveries being made to site later in February. The topsoil is stripped by large excavators and/or bulldozers which pile up the topsoil on one side of the working area. When we come to excavate the trenches within which the pipe will be laid, the subsoil will be kept seperate from the topsoil to ensure the land is reinstated in the way it was found. The work has started at the Layer Water Treatment Works end of the pipeline and will move south over the next few months towards the other end of the route at Langford Water Treatment Works.

Last week we also completed what is called a 'strategic connection' onto an existing water main. At this strategic connection we will install valves that will help us to divert water into the new pipeline. 

The project has achieved a number of major milestones this year. We have now completed all of the planned road crossings along the route, we have completed the directional drill work beneath the River Blackwater and the Langford Cut, and completed our archaological and ecololgical mitigations. This puts us in a fantastic position to start the pipelaying in early 2024. Below are a few photos of our activities over the last year on the project. 

Our Layer to Langford Pipeline Project team is using a non-intrusive method to cross two major Rivers in Essex, the River Blackwater and the Langford Cut.

The method, known as directional drilling, drills a tunnel beneath the rivers through which over 200m of pipeline will be pulled. The alternative to this would involve sheet piling the rivers to stop the flow, overpumping the water and then open cutting the rivers, potentially causing ecological and environmental disturbance.

Work started last week, beginning with the drilling of a pilot tunnel 6m beneath the river beds. This will be followed by work to widen the tunnel ready to accept the large diameter pipeline.

The drilling process itself is expected to take four weeks.

Today marked a significant milestone on this project with the start of our archaeological field work. Having previously completed desk based assessment and aerial surveys we have now moved into the phase of trial trenching. This involves the excavation of strip trenches across the pipeline route that will allow archaeologist to search for historic artefacts. During this phase we will be liaising closely with Essex County Council and Colchester City Council to report our findings and allow them the opportunity to complete their own assessment within the trenches. If any artefacts are located these are recorded and the trench is backfilled. Where significant artefacts are found more detailed investigation will be completed prior to the process of pipelaying, these may even alter the route of the pipeline. This phase of the work is scheduled to last approx. 8 weeks.

In mid April 2023 we completed the installation of the first sections of pipe associated with the project. The pipe was installed adjacent to the existing B1019 Langford Road near to the area of a new development by Countryside Properties. We worked closely with Maldon District Council and Countryside Properties to complete this work such that when the B1019 is realigned, we would not have to dig up the new road causing inconvenience to the local communities. 

Proposed raw water main route drawings - I wanted to share with visitors to the community portal the proposed route alignment for our new raw water main. The proposed route has been developed following extensive ecological surveys, engineering considerations and land owner engagement. We welcome your feedback on the route and any observations you may have. We will of course be happy to share the output of our surveys and investigations and many of these will support our forthcoming EIA Screening request to both Colchester Borough Council and Maldon District Council.