Masonry Repairs: Impounding Reservoir Spillway Refurbishment

Ram Services Limited - Pressure Pointing Spillway

As part of ongoing assessment and maintenance of all United Utilities Water’s impounding reservoir spillway structures, Ram Services Limited were asked to formulate proposals for refurbishment of the existing masonry spillway at Bottoms IR, close to Macclesfield.

Scheme: Bottoms (Macclesfield ) Impounding Reservoir
Problem: Loss of integrity in spillway pitching due to erosion
of mortar from joints
Solution: Complete renewal of mortar pointing between pitching blocks and in side walls
Client: United Utilities Water
Works duration: 6 weeks
Contract value: £53,400.00

The Ram Services Limited team raked out all the remaining mortar from the joints in the masonry section of the spillway, and in sections of the walls alongside, before flushing them clean with high pressure water jets, and then restoring loss integrity by infilling the joints with a durable proprietary cementitious mortar.

Sections of vertical joint in spillway steps were left open to allow ground water pressures beneath the spillway to be relieved where necessary.

Ram Services Limited has completed similar schemes elsewhere for United Utilities Water, Yorkshire Water and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water.