Euroflo floating pontoon solution for Barton under Needwood Quarry

Euroflo pumping station provides 5,450 litres of water per minute for Hanson aggregates plant

The installation of a new production plant at Hanson Aggregates’ Barton under Needwood quarry also created demands for large volumes of water as part of the washing process. The plant was expected to be working 10 hours a day, five days a week and required, in addition to the high volume of water, 5 bar pressure at a head of 56m for effective washing. A lagoon some 500m from the site had been identified as a suitable water source but the major problem of transference still had to be dealt with. On the strength of a recommendation from within the industry Roy Bishop, Hanson’s site manager, turned to Euroflo Fluid Handling for advice.

Brian Wright, Euroflo’s northern technical director, devised a floating pontoon-based scheme utilizing a Caprari LA/8 line shaft pump; the pump being incorporated in the custom-designed pontoon with a connecting walkway leading back to the edge of the lagoon. From the pontoon a 300mm diameter pipe carries water over a distance of 500m directly to the production plant. A non-return valve has been built into the pipe run, along with an in-line water meter, to record flow readings. The system has been designed specifically for reliability and simple operation with fail-safe manual control at the pontoon.

Brian Wright was confident the Caprari LA/8 pump selected for inclusion within the scheme would have the capacity to cope with the constant demands placed upon it and this has proved to be the case. Roy Bishop, who was also unaware of Euroflo Fluid Handling and what they could offer prior to this project, has expressed complete satisfaction with the concept and how it is working for him.