Working with Springfield to create a bespoke intake screen, from design to installation
The Why
Springfield Surface Water Abstraction (SWA) is situated on the banks of the river Medway in Maidstone, Kent and moves water to Eccles Lake.
With new Eel regulations coming into effect across the country, Springfield had to upgrade its water intake systems to be compliant.
Juvenile ‘Glass Eels’ were at risk of entering the system which prevented them from moving upstream and completing their complex lifecycle. Before the GoFlo screens were installed, it had a timber fender and coarse bar screens to protect the pumps from large debris meaning smaller debris could still enter and eels could still get through.
This is when GoFlo were bought in to install a state-of-the-art water intake screen to combat all of the above issues.
Springfield Surface Water Abstraction's GoFlo Intake screen
GoFlo 3D CAD model of the proposed screens, Intake Box and Walkways
The Numbers
GoFlo had a bit of a challenge when it came to this site; it is in constant use 24/7 and the pumping station could not be turned off for more than 8 hours because this would impact on the operation of the water treatment works that the river supplies.
In addition to this, the site could not be de-watered meaning it would take a technical team of divers to install in water that is 4.5 metres deep.
With GoFlo’s wealth of experience however, we customise each intake system to the specific site. For Springfield we manufactured the screens, intake box, walkways and debris troughs, these were the basic specifications:
2.2 kW 3-phase
WIMES-spec
motor / gearbox
spacing: 2 mm
screen mesh
area 4.652 m2
inclination (from
horizontal): 72.5°
material: 304
Stainless
Steel
The Process – Design
The start of the process was clearing the intake and apron area of silt and debris, the Commercial and Specialised Diving Ltd managed to pull out a tangled mess of silt, fishing line, a large quantity of steel railings, two motorbikes, a pushbike and various other debris!
Next, the GoFlo team along with the divers, conducted a detailed survey of the area including the concrete piers onto which the GoFlo Intake Box would attach onto, this also looked at how far the existing concrete apron extended out into the river.
Following the site survey, a detailed 3D model of the existing intake was constructed in Inventor software which formed the basis of the GoFlo design.
The principle of the GoFlo design was a modular construction, comprising of:
A Fixing Frame that fixed to the concrete structure and was used as a template for drilling the fixing holes
2 x Intake Box sides which bolted to the Fixing Frame (assembled above-water, after the Fixing Frame fixing holes had been drilled and the Fixing frame removed)
The standard GoFlo screen(s)
A sacrificial ‘measuring frame’ which bolted to the Fixing frame to allow all of the key levels to be measured (hence adjusted) from above-water
The standard GoFlo Baseplate and Pivoting Frame (guide rails), 2 off
Course debris screen / walkway that integrated with the Intake box / debris trough and return channel
Here, you can see the process of installing the GoFlo screens all the way from assembling the fixing and measuring frame to installing it all on site.
Designed and manufactured in the UK: The GoFlo travelling screen system was developed by experienced hydro engineers based in the UK. One of the greatest benefits of using a GoFlo travelling screens, aside from UK content, is the exceptional customer focussed UK based support available to ensure the system is operating efficiently and trouble free over its lifetime.
