A steel company is playing a vital part in one of Cumbria’s biggest infrastructure projects.

Border Steelwork Structures, in Carlisle, is providing a £4m package of work as part of the construction of a new Rapid Gravity Filter Building at the Williamsgate Water Treatment Works.

The water treatment works is being built as part of United Utilities £300m West Cumbria Water Supplies Project.

The project - which began in 2017 - involves laying more than 60 miles of pipes from Thirlmere to and throughout West Cumbria.

As well as laying a 30km pipeline to take water from Thirlmere to the Williamsgate Water Treatment Works, near the A595 at Redmain, the company is also constructing 70km of pipes transporting the water from there from to around 50,000 people across West Cumbria.

The project also involves the completion of new pumping stations and new underground service reservoirs.

Border Steelwork Structures is providing structural steelwork, a “green roof” and wall cladding for the project to the main contractor Advance, which is a joint venture between Balfour Beatty Utilities and global natural resources and water firm MWH.

The water treatment works will treat water from the reservoir before the new pipes take it to customers in the west of the county.

The Rapid Gravity Filter Building is the largest at the works and measures around 90m by 90m with a steel frame.

Its roof will be finished with sedum, a plant which has been specifically chosen so that it blends into the surrounding area.

Border is responsible for fabricating, supplying and erecting the steelwork, as well as the roof and wall cladding, including the installation of the sedum.

The building is divided into three main areas; an initial filtration zone, a chemical dosing area and a secondary filter area.

These areas are all different sizes and with different internal configuration.

The initial filtration zone is five bays wide, with each measuring up to 16m wide.

The final filtration zone has a span of 21m.

Ian Tomlinson, United Utilities project manager said: “The project has been a great example of partnership working - and not just with our contractors, but also with our process colleagues who will eventually operate the treatment works.

“We’ve used the latest 4D modelling, Building Information Management (BIM) tools and virtual reality tours to specify the exact design detail, before a spade even hit the ground.

“That all adds up to a smooth construction process and a great final result.”

The West Cumbria Water Supplies Project is being undertaken so that people in West Cumbria can draw their water from Thirlmere instead of the environmentally delicate Ennerdale Water.

United Utilities needs to stop drawing water from Ennerdale by 2022 when the Environment Agency will withdraw the abstraction licence for the lake.

When the works are complete they will be capable of treating 80 million litres of water a day.

Last year another part of the project was recognised with Tunnelling Project of the Year (up to £50m) at the New Civil Engineer Awards.

The Farrans Roadbridge joint venture and Ward and Burke Construction picked up the accolade for the Castlerigg Tunnel project, near Keswick.

John said: “We’re immensely proud to be recognised in this way because the Castlerigg Tunnel was quite literally a ground-breaking success.

“At 1.25km it is the longest tunnel ever built in the UK using a technique known as pipe jacking, and we completed it in a record three months. This beats the previous record by nearly 300m and eight months.

“This has demonstrated to the rest of the industry that with an innovative approach you can use existing technology to work further and faster, which helps keep costs down and minimise inconvenience.”

The team designed the Castlerigg tunnel after the original planned route through the Greta Valley had to be scrapped due to landslides caused by Storm Desmond in 2015. The tunnel drive used hydraulic rams to propel the tunnelling machine forward under pressures of up to 900 tonnes.