The aeration specialists were subcontracted to support main contractor Morgan Sindall on the replacement of the intank aeration system at the waste water treatment works.

The ageing system had started to cause problems such as pipe breakages and membrane failures due to its age. The solution was to install a new aeration system into the two lagoons – but it posed some unique challenges for Suprafilt.

Rather than a conventional concrete-built tank, the aeration system needed to be installed into two man-made lagoons at Whitby, which were live during the works.

The expert team used their years of knowledge and experience to develop a solution to the issue and created a method of weighing down the structure and providing additional support.

Graeme Fielden, Sales Director at Suprafilt, said the project was the first lagoon they have worked on – which posed some uniqur challenged for the team – including difficult access due to the sloping sides.

Suprafilt installed stainless steel diffuser headers with Oxyflex OM 2.0m long diffusers and fine-tuned the design to minimise the number of supports required in the unusual setting.

The two lagoons were worked on alternately to ensure that the process was not disrupted during the construction and installation. Suprafilt fabricated all the pipework at their factory and carried out the installation in house and the schedule of work was completed on time to programme.