ACO Water Management

Highway Soakaway – StormBrixx provides the infiltration solution on a key section of the A442

When and Wrekin Council needed to provide a safe, sustainable and Project: maintainable infiltration solution for a key section of the A442, they turned to the A442, Cold Hatton, . expertise of ACO and its StormBrixx system. Objective: Managing surface water run-off on highways and Cold Hatton to minimise surface water disruptions to Provide a stormwater control solution local roads is a key consideration for highways the road, with its high storage capacity and flexible in a limited space, that reduced agencies and local authorities alike, protecting road crate design. “ACO’s modular crate system allowed the effects of flash flooding on the users from flash flooding that increasingly strikes our us to fit a new highway soakaway into a long and section of road. road network. Attenuation and infiltration solutions narrow space while maximising the attenuation are a proven way of reducing the effects of these provided,” commented Lucinda Lycett, Engineering Solution: disruptive weather issues, and ACO’s StormBrixx Assistant at Council, who helped StormBrixx HD soakaway system proved to be the ideal solution for Telford and specify the solution. Wrekin Council when undertaking remedial works with remote access on a stretch of the A442 installation in Shropshire. A new gulley was also built into the verge, installed at a lower level than the road surface, which then In December 2016 73m3 of StormBrixx HD (Heavy connected to the StormBrixx soakaway tank via a Duty) was installed along the verge of the A442 in series of pipework underneath the road surface. Additionally, the accessibility and stacking ability EASE OF ONGOING MAINTENANCE of the ACO StormBrixx system benefited both the As Telford and Wrekin Council would remain Local Council and Contractors respectively. Lucinda responsible for the ongoing maintenance of continued: “The system was easy to store on site the storm water management system once the and the design allows us to easily inspect and installation was finished, a StormBrixx remote maintain the soakaway.” access unit was integrated at the inlet point and This project fell to Telford and Wrekin Council an inspection point was added to the far end to because the particular section of the A442 came enable full and uninterrupted access to the entire under their remit for repair and maintenance, rather installation. This removed the need for upstream than Highways . manholes, which would have impacted the size of the soakaway system and ultimately added further POLICY FRAMEWORK unnecessary cost into the build. Crucially, they Maintenance and sustainability were already high also enable maintenance engineers to inspect the on the agenda for Telford and Wrekin Council. installation through the use of a push-rod CCTV ACO’s modular crate system allowed them to fit inspection camera, as well as jetting to remove any a new highway soakaway into a long and narrow built-up of sediment. space while maximising the attenuation provided, following its 2016 Highway Asset Management INSTALLATION AND LOGISTICS EASE Policy and Strategy document, which was The installation of the project was facilitated by developed from the April 2015 changes to the the unique logistical benefits of the StormBrixx HD National Planning Policy Framework. system. All the materials could be delivered to site Under the NPPF, local authorities are required to on one truck due to its stackable design, where all consider the use of sustainable drainage systems of the half pieces fit precisely inside each other. (SuDS) where applicable. Following the success Conventional infiltration systems would require of a StormBrixx HD installation at the Telford up to four trucks, not to mention increased on-site Priory School in 2014, the council’s engineers storage, yet the innovative design of the StormBrixx were already very familiar with the long-term system ensured the commonly associated additional water management and sustainability benefits of costs could be avoided. employing the system as a SuDS solution. Peter Bembridge, Business Development Manager for ACO Water Management, commented: SOAKAWAY CONFIGURATION “Having worked with the council’s engineers on ACO StormBrixx HD soakaway configuration was previous projects, the ACO team were able to chosen, and this allowed infiltration into the ground, quickly devise a specification and ensured the a key consideration for Sustainable Drainage work was undertaken in an efficient manner. Systems (SuDS) and acted as a stormwater Everyone is aware that highway closures and reservoir during heavy rainfall, to avoid flash- maintenance can be a major inconvenience, flooding of the area. yet the logistics and installation benefits of StormBrixx helped keep any impact on road The unique pillar configuration of the ACO usage to an absolute minimum.” StormBrixx HD system offers a high porosity of 95%, which not only limited the amount of STORMBRIXX HD AND NEW STORMBRIXX SD excavation required to achieve the specified storage capacity, but reduced the aggregate needed for ACO has now launched its StormBrixx SD solution. backfilling and improved the flow characteristics This is a general-purpose extension to the range, of run-off through the installed tank. which benefits from the core characteristics of StormBrixx HD such as stackability and high The StormBrixx system was lined with ACOtex, a porosity but without the need for integrated ‘man non-woven polypropylene geotextile with excellent access’ options that some projects require. filtration and drainage properties. This would ensure any stormwater collected in the soakaway tank To find out more about ACO’s range of stormwater could infiltrate back into the surrounding soil control options, please visit: at a natural rate, without surcharging the www.aco.co.uk/products/stormbrixx surrounding area.

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