Commonwealth Games Aquatics Centre
Catagory: Groundwater Control
Location: Birmingham, UK
Client: Wates Construction
Sector: Public Services
Construction of the 2022 Commonwealth Games Aquatics Centre at Sandwell, Birmingham, required a particularly challenging groundwater management operation for the deep excavation required works for the Competition Pool, Dive Pool, Plant room and surrounding Infrastructure.
The Project
The site is located within an area of restricted groundwater availability, preventing any consumptive abstraction.
Due to current over-abstraction of groundwater from the Principal Aquifer underlying Birmingham, the EA specified the net abstraction rate as Zero for the Project. This meant that 100% of any groundwater abstracted during construction was required to be recharged back to the same aquifer within the constrained site boundary.
To ensure that this sustainable water conservation constraint was achieved, Wates Construction (Principal Contractor), engaged OGI Groundwater Specialists to Design and Manage this operation.
The Solution
The complex operation required a combination of testing, detailed groundwater modelling, innovative design solutions, skilled installation and astute site management.
With recharge wells sometimes as close as 10m from the abstraction wells, the system had to be carefully designed and modelled to ensure a successful outcome.
Most importantly, it was essential to abstract clear groundwater, filtered so as to prevent silts from being removed from the ground, and so enabling recharge of clear water to avoid frequent blockage.
Project Success
Environmental benefits through the protection of the groundwater resource.
The groundwater table was lowered beneath excavation formation to enable safe construction.
Works could be undertaken efficiently in a complex and dynamic constrained site.
Project Gallery
