RSE Deliver Vital Upgrades to Tiree Water Treatment Works

RSE was contracted by Scottish Water to deliver vital upgrades to the Tiree Water Treatment Works (WTW).

Situated on the picturesque Isle of Tiree, the Tiree WTW has been a reliable provider of safe drinking water for the local community over many years. However, with the growing popularity of the island, the storage capacity of the original WTW was no longer able to meet the demand from the increased population, particularly during the summer months when the island experiences a significant surge in residents and visitors.

The demand for water resources during this period stretched the capacity of the existing infrastructure, promoting the need for capital investment to ensure continued efficient and reliable water supply to the local community. Scottish Water engaged the water treatment expertise of RSE to develop and deliver a comprehensive and resilient water treatment solution to meet the island’s present and future growth needs.

The project scope included an upgrade to the drinking water network system, including the installation of two new Clear Water Balance Tanks (CWBT); an RSE standard modular pump station, incorporating High Lift Pumps, Backwash Pumps, and Transfer Pumps; and a new RSE standardised modular Motor Control Centre (MCC) to effectively power and manage the newly integrated pump system.

The existing Remote Telemetry Unit (RTU) was also replaced and upgraded to enhance monitoring capabilities. The final phase of the project involved commissioning and testing of the entire system to ensure the optimal functionality and reliability of the newly installed assets.

The remote location of the site meant that utilising RSE’s standard modularised products ensured RSE delivered certainty and savings in time, costs, client resources, logistics, and carbon footprint whilst achieving enhanced quality of build and health, safety, well-being, and customer engagement performance.

RSE m-Eco Building™ – LMB’s

RSE’s pump stations are constructed using RSE’s m-Eco Building™ – Light Modular Build (LMB) technology. RSE’s m-Eco Building™ – LMBs serve as a direct replacement for industry-standard Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) enclosures, revolutionising not only the construction of frame structures but also accelerating procurement times, standardising design solutions, and leading to substantial carbon savings of 83%.

The ongoing investments in new equipment has empowered RSE to pioneer low-carbon products like RSE’s m-Eco Building™ – LMBs – modular buildings. These solutions utilise advanced industry systems that eliminate the need for the blasting and painting of steel, thereby reducing energy-intensive processes.

RSE’s Eco Building™ – LMBs are designed and manufactured using a specialised integrated CAD/CAM software solution to create models with precision CNC machinery. Using this approach to form the structure ensures high accuracy, quick turnaround, reductions in fabrication costs, and improvements in lead times for clients. Additionally, the materials of the modular RSE’s m-Eco Building™ are fully recyclable at the end of the product lifecycle, compared with industry-standard alternatives, which would typically be disposed of as waste to landfill or sent to an EfWP (Energy from Waste Plant). The RSE m-Eco Building™ – LMB steel structure replacement can provide embodied carbon reduction of >80% and further increase the lifespan of modular buildings.

RSE Project Manager, Andrew Sutherland, commented on the project:

“This has been a challenging project due to the remote location of the site and the space available within the existing WTW. With good design, planning, and a proactive site team the difficulties in constructing this project for Scottish Water were overcome. The delivery of the RSE-LMB to the site presented several obstacles but thanks to our Site Manager and the delivery teams’ detailed MSRA and lift plan, this complex operation was completed safely, successfully, and on time. The use of the new technology in constructing the RSE’s Eco Building™ – LMB enabled the workshop production time to be reduced and the overall project benefitted from a large carbon reduction. This has been a great project to deliver in collaboration with the Scottish Water DV2 team with everyone working together to get the new system into supply and improve the resilience of supply to Tiree.”

The Tiree WTW project has been a great success for RSE and Scottish Water. Following the end of the commissioning phase, the site entered water into supply on December the 5th 2023, and is now fully operational. The upgrades that have been made to the site as well as the new RSE m-Eco Building™ – LMB technology will ensure that both the residents and visitors to the Isle of Tiree will have access to a reliable, safe, and robust water supply for many years to come.