A project that SOLID associate Daljit Matharu has worked on was recently highly commended for sustainability by the Irish Concrete Society during their 40th annual awards ceremony. HAC (now part of SOLID) was appointed by Ward & Burke on the Blanchardstown Project in Dublin. The Blanchardstown project aimed to upgrade the storm and foul water network serving Blanchardstown, Mulhaddart, Castleknock and several smaller towns, increasing the resilience of the existing network. This has reduced the risk of storm flooding in the immediate surroundings and controls the volume of storm water that is discharged into the River Tolka.

Daljit worked with Ward & Burke on the foul balancing tank, one of the three tanks forming the 30,000m³ storm water storage capacity. This tank has an outer shaft of 30m diameter and an inner shaft of 8m diameter. The tank is split into three chambers, the storm water well, the foul water well and the dry well housing the pumps and the mechanical and electrical equipment . A set of four pumps at mid-level and another set of two at the bottom of the inner shaft deal with the stored foul and storm waters respectively.

Ground water level was high due to the adjacent River Tolka and this dictated the uplift loads. With the use of ground anchors, strategically positioned and pre-tensioned, the base slab thickness was optimised, and volume of concrete required to resist uplift was reduced, thereby reducing the embedded carbon.

Precast concrete elements were incorporated into the permanent works to eliminate temporary works, thereby reducing hazards/risks during construction.

The Irish Concrete Society recently shared the jury’s comments via LinkedIn -

'The Blanchardstown project's design and execution is about understanding the stresses and strains we are imposing on the planet with increasing urbanisation and population growth and makes an elegant solution which sustains us for the future. Flooding and saturation after intense rain have been problematic in this part of Dublin for many years. This economic and ingenious linked structure - three huge circular concrete tanks and kilometres of tunnelling to connect to existing infrastructure - attenuates storm water and manages the risk of untreated wastewater overflow into the river Tolka. This singular piece of infrastructure therefore protects vital habitats and ecosystems along the Tolka Valley and into Dublin Bay itself, giving us cleaner beaches and healthier seas'.

A huge congratulations to Daljit for all your hard work on the project and to Ward and Burke for delivering a project with so many challenges. It is fantastic to see all your hard work being recognised.

Blanchardstown Highly Commended for Sustainability

SOLID.