Barhale awarded £11.6M contract to upgrade Ring Main in heart of London

Thames Water has appointed Barhale to carry out the £11.6M East Putney Zone Calming scheme, improving water network resilience for customers in the capital.

The project will upgrade the pumping and electrical equipment at the Park Lane pumping station in central London.

Four pumps will be upgraded: one each supplying water to Putney, Barrow Hill and Shoot Up Hill, and a standby able to supply water to all three locations.

Civil engineering, infrastructure and tunnelling specialist Barhale will replace all four of the existing, high voltage pump motors with low voltage, variable speed models that will allow Thames Water to operate the network at a reduced pressure. This will fix pressure issues, and the likelihood of surges of water in the system, which will reduce the risk of bursts and leakage, particularly in East Putney.

Barhale will also upgrade the electrical control systems; install new flow control monitoring; replace the existing ventilation within the pumping station with a fully redundant and resilient design; carry out an overhaul of the lighting and water services; and remove all redundant equipment.

Shane Gorman, Barhale’s Water Director – Southern, explained the importance of the work and highlighted the operational challenges.

“The successful delivery of the East Putney Zone Calming scheme will be a step-change for operation of the water network at Park Lane,” he said. “Replacing the existing fixed speed motors with variable speed motors will transform control of water pressure within the tunnels. For customers, this means a more resilient network and it will significantly reduce the likelihood of leakage.

“It is fair to say that there are certain logistical challenges. The site is literally in the middle of Park Lane, one of the busiest thoroughfares in London, with three lanes of traffic flowing either side night and day.

“It means that work, and particularly deliveries and access to the site, will need to be planned and managed meticulously. We will be drawing on the experience gained at other busy London locations and in collaboration of the local authority, to make sure that operations are conducted as safely as possible and with a minimum of disruption.

“We are looking forward to working with Thames Water to deliver this important scheme.”

Commenting on the major upgrade, Roselyn Unegbu, Delivery Director, London Non-Infrastructure, Thames Water said: “This investment is essential to upgrading our Ring Main, ensuring Londoners can count on clean, reliable drinking water for decades to come. It will also help us drive down leakage and reduce the risk of bursts.”

Work is expected to complete in September 2027.