Associated Case Studies

Reservoir Rebuilding

With a weir being rebuilt, this scheme had to show 100 litres flow per second through an 8" line and flow meter. A special weir plate took the flow from the weir to two Sykes 6" Super Silenced pumps, with a 6" standby pump linked via a special control panel: if either duty pump shut down, the standby kicked in within three seconds. This was to meet EU regulations on water flow between linked gravity-fed reservoirs. Sykes pumps were on hire for the duration of the 16-week project achieving the desired flow rate, and worked without fault throughout the project

South West Water

Sykes Pumps has been awarded a three year sole-supplier contract by South West Water in an agreement estimated to be worth at least £1M.

This is the first time that South West Water has placed its submersible pump hire requirements under a sole-supplier framework, and the agreement followed a competitive tender.

Steve Williams from South West Water said: "We have dealt with Sykes Pumps on an ad hoc basis for some time and have always been impressed by the level of service, speed of response and quality of equipment we've received from them". Sykes has recently announced a £2.5M investment in new pumps.

Reservoir Excavation

When a contractor needed to drain water while excavating near the bottom of a reservoir, they called Sykes Pumps. The difficulty was that excavation work was near a residential area – it was essential the pump ran quietly to minimise impact on nearby residents. Sykes’ solution was to employ their environmentally friendly Super Silent 6" pump which, when running, only develops 59dBA at 7m. The Super Silenced pump is also fully bunded which contains any fuel spillage that could have contaminated the water table. As a result of the use of Sykes Super Silenced there were no complaints from residents and excavation continued without delay.

Pumping Station Failure

A main pumping station in Essex had a failure on one pump, which required an emergency backup. If the primary pump failed, sewage would contaminate the main water source. Sykes were called in to help solve the problem; they advised and supplied a Super Silenced 6" pump. Fully automatic, the pump would stop and start should the level in the wet well get too high. This was the ideal solution, resulting in major cost savings on fuel, as the pump wasn’t running all the time. Low noise levels were also important, as this is a built-up area.

Sewage Works Redevelopment

With a redundant sewage treatment works outlined for redevelopment, including new homes, the contractor asked Sykes to help provide a solution to empty the digester tanks, last used in the 1980s. This scheme used 3" and 4" silenced diesel units and a combination of electric submersible and hydraulic pumpsets. The plan had to be adapted during operation as different scenarios developed and tanks were successfully emptied enabling the contractors to move to the next phase.

Treatment Works

A plant equipment company hired three Super Silenced 6" pumps plus one 4" pump for a treatment works in Devon. Due to the location of a nearby nursing home, operations had to be quiet. The client wanted a reliable supplier as equipment from a previous company had repeatedly broken down, with repairs taking days rather than hours. The client chose Sykes based on the fact Sykes offered guaranteed delivery times and, in the unlikely event of breakdown, repairs would happen within four hours.

Pump Station Maintenance

A maintenance services provider needed to over-pump at an existing Pump Station close to a housing estate. Sykes installed a Super Silenced 4" pump, directly connected to existing pipework. The unit, sized to fit onto the existing riser main, worked 24/7 on raw sewage with no problems while the company carried out maintenance on the station and overhauled the existing submersible pumps. Sykes also supplied a Hatz silenced pump to periodically over-pump a chamber while maintenance continued.

Major Water Utility

To enable an essential upgrade of a Waste Water Treatment Works in Scotland, Sykes over-pumped approximately 550 litres per second of sewage, around the clock for seven days. The Super Silenced pumps used were the preferred choice because of the close proximity of neighbouring homes. Equipment was on hire for three weeks in total to the complete satisfaction of the customer and the neighbouring residents.