Praise from South West Water

First class planning and excellent health and safety arrangements have earned May Gurney a pat on the back from one of its major customers, South West Water, for completing a tricky job in just three days.

The task was to replace a Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV) on a 600mm raw water main at Roborough Reservoir on the edge of Dartmoor. This particular valve is critical to the water supply network for a large area of Totnes and south Devon.

With the valve located three metres down a chamber, and its replacement requiring precision installation, careful planning was essential. The project team had to undertake the works with clear method statements involving confined space safely.

First the team set up and pre-fabricated the PRV and all the necessary fittings. On day two they replaced the existing PRV while the water main was operating on bypass, before connecting and commissioning it.

The team did not sign off the installation until the South West Water control room in Exeter had confirmed (remotely, through its telemetry link) that the unit was operating.

Leonard Rickard, a Senior Engineer with South West Water, was so delighted that he sent a letter of thanks. "I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the team for all their hard work," he said. "Planning was first class and ensured a challenging job ran very smoothly. It was an exceptional job well done."

Gavin Scarr Hall, Managing Director May Gurney Utility Services, added: "It's great to see our teams working closely with South West Water on delivery of projects like this. Although it's a small element of what we do, the critical nature of the installation demonstrates the competency of our people and importance of good planning.

"I would like to thank our team for their hard work and am delighted that projects like this give confidence to our client for future strategic trunk mains operations."