Southern Water has completed a major infrastructure upgrade near Swalecliffe, Kent, by installing a new pipe nearly 1 kilometre long into the North Sea.
This involved careful planning and execution with a specialist dredger and excavators preparing the beach and trench.
The pipe, made in Norway in two 500-metre sections, was transported across the North Sea to Medway port and then positioned and sunk using controlled valves.
The new High-Density Polyethylene pipe, with an internal diameter of 1107.6mm, stretches approximately 959m from the sea wall, significantly longer than the previous pipe it replaces.
Such pipes are crucial for preventing residential and commercial flooding by diverting stormwater when local storm tanks are full.
Placing the new pipe further out to sea aims to reduce environmental impact and enhance operational efficiency near beaches and bathing areas.
John Penicud, Director of Wastewater Operations at Southern Water, said: “The Swalecliffe engineering project will replace a sea damaged outfall pipe, as part of a major upgrade of its wastewater treatment works and a regulatory requirement, it will allow teams to install a much longer pipe in its place.”
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