Pump up the volumetric flow rate
Jackson oversees pumping station construction
Two Archimedes screw pumps protect 2,000ha of fenland farms and communities
Our impact
2,169ha
Flood protection area
117
Residential properties protected
26
Businesses protected
2,300l/s
Capacity of Archimedes screw pumps
Working so close to a protected coastline required care throughout the operation.
The old land and the sea
The old pumping station at Wrangle had regulated land drainage around Boston, Lincolnshire for fifty years, and a lot of water was returned to the sea.
But new measures of performance demand new capabilities, and Jackson was appointed to build a state-of-the-art pumping station at Wrangle on behalf of Witham Fourth District Internal Drainage Board.
With a distinctive design and operation, it’s aim is to achieve a balance between commercial and residential needs and environmental concerns.
A symphony in steel: Engineer, NAME directs the orchestra
Each Archimedes screw is 2m in diameter and together they have a total capacity of 2300l/s.
Archimedes screws
The whole of the Lincolnshire coast is an important wildlife habitat and strict environmental constraints were imposed to minimise impact on the Friskney drain and the Wash, where the outfall runs out to. The pump lifts water from the drain across a sea defence bund, discharging to the foreshore on the downstream side.
The pumping station was designed by engineering consultants Stantec and uses an Archimedes screw pump system.
The screw pump produces the flow performance needed by the drain but crucially provides protection for fish and eels caught up in the movement of water. It is an ideal design as it is relatively slow turning and good at transporting solid objects as well as water from a lower to a higher location.
Big lift for Lincolnshire
The works, being quite different in design than the old pump, required a lower location, with the whole system sunk into the land by the drain. Steel sheet piles measuring 18m and 22m provided a foundation, before the screw pumps could be installed using a 100t crane.
The new pumping station provides flood protection for a catchment area of approximately 2,000 hectares, safeguarding more than a hundred residential and commercial properties that would otherwise be at risk.
It balances flow requirements with environmental concerns either side of the sea wall and offers protection and security for all.
Steel sheet piles provided a foundation for the pumping station.
