The Pumping Station at Peakirk has undergone a wide spread refurbishment of their mitre gates. The Peakirk Pumping Station is located on the junction of the River Welland and Folly. The work was carried out by ECS Engineering Services, who were appointed to carry out the work by Environment Agency. By carrying out this work, ECS have been able to improve the flood defenses in the station by uprating the gates at the station.
The main purpose of the refurbishment works was to create an improved barrier to protect the Pumping Station in the event of flooding. The Peakirk Pumping Station works to protect a number of properties that are located further upstream from any significant changes in water level. The existing wooden miter gates that were installed at the site had visible signs of wear after being n use for a number of years. In order to carry out the refurbishment works on the gates, they needed to be removed and taken to the ECS fabrications centre which is located in Nottinghamshire. The company faced a challenge when first gaining access to the gates, because the central sluice needed to have the water removed and then dammed before the gates could be removed and the work could begin. It was thought that the stoplog would be enough to allow the isolation of the mitre gates, however on inspection, the stoplog guides were also looking worn. Therefore, in order to carry out the repairs a GEO dam was installed to hold back the water.
The control system also needed to be considered for the new gates. In order to tackle this challenge an ECS blueprinted weight stack counter balancing system was installed in order to provide the controls for the new gates. This entire system was all manufactured in house by ECS meaning that a fully integrated system could be reinstalled at Peakirk.
The Environment Agency chose ECS to carry out the work because they were looking for high quality engineering solutions that were carried out in a way that is environmentally friendly.