Hulme Flume (Upgraded), Manchester 2013-2014.
I won't be about in Manc for the foreseeable so thought I'd stick this up, as aside for a quick sweep up and some remedial finishing the jobs done
A recent overhaul has seen the Irwell Storm Relief Culvert (a.k.a Hulme Flume) intersected near to it's existing outfall
Below ground, a sizeable filtration system has been installed..
The proposed solution is quite straight forward here, addressing 3 Unsatisfactory Intermittent Discharges from the Work 9, Outfall A & B sewers within the Hulme area
A sizeable below ground screening chamber has been constructed, consisting of 3 x 3m escalated screens to remove solids in excess of 6mm from the flow prior to discharge into the River Irwell
These screened solids are retained and returned by gravity to the adjacent sewer
The chosen site location was largely down to sufficient land available to screen the combined flows from the 3 UID's at one location, and also minimising disruption looking at some of the early proposals that weren't rubber stamped
It was good to finally see this project completed, although I didn't find it anywhere near as aesthetically pleasing as the similar setup over at SSSI
See below, How to flush£7 million quid down the toilet
Work finally started mid 2013 and was supposed to be finished by December 2014..
What a surprise they still haven't completed the work above ground (landscaping and such)
These lads sure know how to "work hard behind the scenes"
Every time I've poked my head in they've been busy enjoying a safety brew, and no wonder the project ran beyond it's deadline
Maybe UU ought to stick pics of cranes & excavators on their hoarding instead of a brew, as it appears these lads have had more breaks than Steve Davis
:
I've had a few out of hours strolls of my own here whilst it was under construction too
The site has been a bone of contention for me, namely adverse weather.. Welcome to Manchester twinned with precipitation!!
If 12 tonnes of rainwater coming at you doesn't sound like sport, neither does having to swiftly leave the site empty handed
In fairness, there wasn't a great deal to see until the project was coming to a close on this one, they didn't 'break into' the existing overflow until lastminute.com
Work, Rain, Work and a metric fuck tonne of Rain later...
One afternoon whilst on my commute home, I decided to take a detour and have another sniff in
A temporary shaft had appeared just off Chester road and dropped right into the flume
Conveniently, it was just outside the compound and was a doddle, as quick as you could say Lickety Split I was back in town under the cover of darkness
The heavens once again decided to open, and now secca had clocked me FFS!
Not to be deterred, I returned a couple of nights later from another piece of the system and re-united myself once more with the downstream stretch of filth
Pikey sewer, by Nickindroy
Winding down towards St. George's, the levels started to rise, knee deep in arse soup I had to somehow remain silent as I trudged on below the compound
The previous 48 hours had seen it belt down, the temporary pumps appeared to be working here unlike SSSI, and was about as fresh as it could possibly get
Obtaining pics on follow up trips as work progressed proved a struggle as the place had more steam than Ivor the engine!
A short while later I checked in again to see what's what
The screening chamber was now covered and the escalated screens had since been installed,
along with the associated plumbing to return screened debris back to the nearby sewer
Also, the temporary dam had now been removed, leaving the original overflow almost dry again
The primary overflow chamber downstream of the first dissection of the flume
Beyond which,
the escalated screens and a smaller penstock on the right allow excess spill flows at capacity to enter the detention tank and continuation of the existing relief culvert
On follow up trips, the upstream penstocks had been isolated independently during commissioning of the system
The screens were doing a grand job of holding the rags & lady plasters back
Beyond the relief penstock, you can see evidence of the original brick invert
This leads to the secondary overflow chamber behind the screens, which also doubles up as a detention tank
Equipped with duty/standby launder pumps located within a small sump (far right), allowing waste water to be retained and pumped back to the nearby sewer
Outlet to Irwell/Ship Canal
We decided it wasn't a good idea poking about on the upper level on earlier trips here and throwing lumen's about
It was a while later before we returned to look in on the *completed system
*(All that remained was some finishing of the cofferdam and remedial work with some of the upper GRP and a general sweep up)
That, and the above ground landscaping the system has now been run up, I decided to take one last look in before I pissed off..
Inlet
Automated penstocks (left) regulate the forward flow through the bifurcation chamber
One of the 3m escalated screens, used to filter the solids
The upper gantry allows access for inspection and maintenance of the screens and associated ancillaries
The stepped walkways allow further access between the upper reaches of the pentocks/screens and associated gubbins
And finally the sump..
Untouched and the final encounter with the flume before it outfalls a good 140m submerged below a point where the River Irwell becomes the Manchester Ship Canal
Shouts to Nickindroy
