Hanningfield Reservoir, Essex

Hanningfield Reservoir is a large, pumped storage facility holding 25,500 million litres of water, situated between Billericay and Chelmsford in Essex. With a surface area of 352 hectares (870 acres), it is managed by Essex and Suffolk Water. The reservoir forms part of a 402.9 ha (996 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, which is also owned and operated by Essex and Suffolk Water in partnership with the Essex Wildlife Trust. Additionally, the area is protected under a Bird Sanctuary Order.

During water treatment, silt curtains are installed across the reservoir to surround the pumping inlet. These curtains require replacement every few years. When Aquatic Engineering_—the company responsible for designing and producing the silt curtains—needed help removing the curtain near the pumping station tower, they reached out to us for assistance.

The only way to reach the pumping tower by vehicle was via a narrow track along the top of the reservoir embankment, making it impossible to bring in heavy equipment. Instead, we used powerful winches together with our Jekko Spider Crane. We sent out a small rigid inflatable dinghy to fasten a line to the floating boom on the curtain, then brought that line back to shore. With the winch anchored to a secure point, we were able to pull each section of the curtain up onto the embankment one at a time.

Upon arrival on shore, the boom and curtain were lifted using the spider crane onto a truck for proper disposal and recycling.

For jobs involving heavy lifting in difficult to reach locations call Rebel Marine.