GRS edge towards attenuation tank finish line in Runcorn

GRS Contractors has completed the sealing and protection works on the below-ground attenuation tank at Water’s Edge, Preston on the Hill, and is now backfilling and reinstating the area as its civil engineering package for Morris Homes moves into the next phase. 

A few weeks ago this was an open excavation, dug to precise levels to receive hundreds of modular crates. Today the crates are built in, the tank is sealed, the protective layers are on, and the ground is going back over it. 

Specialist welding and sealing contractors were brought in to complete the membrane works, making sure the structure was fully watertight and protected before a single load of backfill went in. 

Jimmy Korona, Site Supervisor at GRS Contractors, has overseen the works from the start. 

“Looking at where we started and where we are now, it’s impressive,” said Jimmy. “A lot of work has gone into getting us to this point. We’ve completed the sealing works, installed the protective layers and we’re now backfilling and reinstating the area ready for the next stages of construction. 

“There’s been a lot happening on site. We fenced off our working area from the start and have run it as our own job, while other contractors have carried on with their works all around us. That takes discipline – keeping our exclusion zones tight, managing deliveries and plant movements, and making sure nothing we do affects anyone else’s programme. 

“It’s been busy, but the team has done a great job. Everyone has worked together to keep things moving safely and efficiently, and we’ve done it without a single incident. When you look at the transformation over a relatively short period of time, it’s something everyone involved can be proud of.” 

Around seven GRS operatives were on the job at peak. 

John Roughley, Contracts Manager at GRS Contractors, said: “Credit to Jimmy and the lads on site. Building the tank in accurately was the technical bit, but getting it sealed, protected and backfilled to programme while working around other contractors is where a good site team earns its money. They’ve done exactly that. Well done to everyone involved.” 

Once reinstated, the tank will disappear beneath the development, managing surface water run-off across the site for decades, unseen by the people who eventually live there. 

GRS’s work at Water’s Edge continues, following on from the roads, sewers and major earthworks already delivered on site.