Severn Trent Water has awarded Barhale a £16.35m contract to deliver a major infrastructure project at Etruria Vale in Stoke-on-Trent.
The centrepiece of the scheme is a 20m-diameter, 24m-deep shaft tank, providing an additional 5,200m³ of overflow storage capacity. It is a key element of the wider, multi-site Etruria Vale project, delivered under Severn Trent Water’s Framework Directive Scheme – an initiative focused on reducing intermittent discharges from combined sewer overflows (CSOs), boosting resilience during storms, and enhancing water quality in local watercourses.
Barhale will construct the shaft using secant piling to create a circular retaining wall before excavation begins. Two connecting pipes – a 7.2m-long, 1200mm inlet and a 12m-long, 1050mm overflow – will link the structure to adjacent manholes.
In addition to constructing the shaft, Barhale will design and install the full mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, control, and automation package. This includes fully-submersible, variable speed drive pumps capable of delivering 200 litres per second over a variable head, a vacuum flush system, associated pipework, instrumentation, motor control centre, and kiosk.
Barhale director James Ingamells said the Etruria Vale shaft was “the final piece in the puzzle” for the wider Etruria Vale project, which spanned multiple sites, including the Lower Oxford Road CSO and Lower Oxford Road Shaft.
“Its completion, and the extra capacity it brings, will make a significant improvement to the wastewater network in the area. Most importantly, it will play a vital role in improving water quality in the Fowlea Brook – a key tributary of the River Trent,” he said.
Work is scheduled for completion by summer 2027.
