New pumps to supply water for Bristol

THE Canal & River Trust is installing two new three-tonne pumps at Gloucester Docks to take water from the Severn to supply Bristol.

The water will be extracted from the docks and pumped into the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, to give a better water supply to the people and businesses of Bristol.

More efficient pumps

Capable of pumping enough water to fill an Olympic size swimming pool every 21 minutes, the installation of the latest two pumps will mean all four life-expired pumps at Gloucester Docks will have been replaced with modern, more efficient, pumps — completing a replacement project that began a year ago.

Once the latest installation in completed, the four pumps at the docks will be able to take an average of 100 million litres of water per day from the Severn to feed the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, which is not only an important canal navigation, but also acts as a source for Bristol Water's supply for the population of Bristol.

Funded by the trust

The £400,000 works, funded by the trust, started on the 13th of March and should be completed by the 26th March.

The pumps will cut the electricity bill for the pumping station at the docks by around ten per cent and have a life span of around 20 years.

Nigel Taylor, Senior Maintenance Engineer at Canal & River Trust, explained:

Pumps are vital

"The pumps are vital in helping us to keep the canal open, ships moving and to supply hundreds of thousands of people in Bristol with water. They are highly efficient and are controlled by our state-of-the-art monitoring system so we can continuously manage water levels in the canal.

“Since 1834 water has been pumped from the Severn into the canal, and these new pumps are the latest exciting step in helping us to continue reducing energy consumption and CO2 emissions while supplying hundreds of millions of litres of water each week.”

The installation is the most recent improvement works at the docks this winter with a large dredging programme also taking place.