Barhale’s Springhill reservoir contract: design and durability notes for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Yorkshire Water has awarded Barhale a £16m, four-year contract to build the Springhill SRE No.3 service reservoir near Scarborough, a 17.3ML twin-compartment reinforced concrete structure measuring 55m × 77m × 5m to replace two ageing reservoirs totalling 17.6ML. The reservoir will be hydraulically balanced with existing Springhill SREs and built using a hybrid solution with an in-situ base slab and precast walls, columns and roof to tighten quality control and shorten the programme. A bespoke concrete mix designed to resist soft water attack and chemical degradation, plus new inlet/outlet/overflow pipelines and pumping stations, aims to deliver a long-life asset, with construction scheduled for 2027.
Technical Brief
- Hybrid construction uses off-site precast walls, columns and roof to minimise on-site formwork and shuttering.
- In-situ base slab allows continuous waterproofing and easier detailing of construction joints and penetrations.
- Two internal compartments are each 54m × 38m, enabling operational flexibility and phased maintenance.
- Reservoir sits adjacent to existing Springhill site, reflecting tight land availability and tie-in constraints.
- Bespoke concrete mix is specified to resist soft water attack without additional internal protective coatings.
- Enhanced durability detailing implies increased cover, careful crack control reinforcement and optimised joint waterstops.
- Scope includes new inlet, outlet and overflow mains plus associated pumping stations and valve house construction.
Our Take
The £16m Springhill SRE scheme sits within Yorkshire Water’s much larger AMP8 capital push, which in our database includes an £80m technical framework and a £50m professional services framework, signalling that this reservoir is one of several medium-scale civils packages being let to bolster resilience by 2027.
EQT Infrastructure’s move to acquire a 42% stake in Kelda Holdings, Yorkshire Water’s parent, suggests that investor-backed pressure to improve asset performance and regulatory outcomes is likely to favour durable, twin-compartment reinforced concrete reservoirs like Springhill SRE No.3 over further life-extension of 90‑year‑old structures.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
