Tackling groundwater in pipeline upgrade. Civil Engineering contractor, George Leslie, turned to Mabey Hire for support when installing a new pipeline for Scottish Water in Saltcoats, Ayrshire. Part of a wider sewer main upgrade project, George Leslie had to directionally drill beneath a watercourse. To facilitate the safe delivery of the enabling works, including the excavation of a 10m deep drive pit, the civil engineering contractor turned to Mabey Hire. A particularly problematic section of the pipeline was located underneath the Stevenson Burn watercourse, which runs alongside a nature reserve and caravan park. Allan Ralston, project manager at George Leslie, said: "To replace the old pipeline at this section, our proposed plan of works involved sinking two cofferdams, one either side of the watercourse and 70m apart (a drive pit and reception pit) and installing a large diameter steel by-pass pipework system. We have directionally drilled underneath the watercourse, using a 914mm diameter steel sleeve. Our teams will then install the new 710 PE pipe and tie-in to the existing network, before decommissioning the old pipeline." To facilitate the safe delivery of the project, a series of temporary works was required, including a temporary bridge to provide access across the watercourse for plant, materials and equipment, as well as groundworks for the various cofferdams and excavations. Following recommendations by the drilling contractor, the drive pit had to be excavated to a depth of 10m - a minimum of 2m underneath the riverbed to avoid water ingress. As a result, George Leslie chose to turn to Mabey Hire, the temporary works supplier, for support. Ralston continued: "We'd actually recently worked with Mabey Hire on a very similar project in nearby Stewarton, which also involved a directional drill and an 8m deep excavation. It was a positive experience working with the team, with great levels of engagement and quality equipment that was easy to work with. As such, we chose to work with them again on this project, with our site team's familiarity with using Mabey Hire's groundworks kit at these depths proving useful." In addition to the temporary access bridge, designed for vehicles up to 26t and formed out of Mabey Hire's flat top beam bridge product, spanning 12m, the supplier also designed and supplied a range of its groundworks support equipment for the various cofferdams on site, using a combination of its Larsen piles, trench sheets and heavy bracing frames. While, given the close proximity of the site to a residential area, Mabey Hire supplied its vibration monitoring sensors for installation during the works. With multiple excavations required, including the reception and drive pit for the drilling rig and the two tie-in points, the project required a carefully planned phased approach, while the site location also presented challenging ground conditions. Jamie McLachlan, associate sales director - Scotland at Mabey Hire explained: "As well as the proximity to the watercourse, Operations Engineer were presented with a high-water table, meaning the team had to consider the resulting groundwater levels in the cofferdams. To counteract this, George Leslie installed a de-watering system in the proposed excavation locations. It involved the installation of small-diameter wells (wellpoints), connected to a header pipe and positioned around the perimeter of each cofferdam, with a vacuum pump system then used to lower the groundwater level. "We also worked with the pile supplier to provide a sealant pre-delivery, to alleviate groundwater ingress. Through a combination of early engagement and excellent collaboration with George Leslie and the wider team, we were able to ensure that this didn't cause issues or delays to the project timeline." Mabey Hire's kit remains on site, with the directional drilling commencing at the end of April 2026.

Carbogenics: transforming wastewater waste into a solution for emerging new pollutants removal. * Carbogenics * June 23, 2026 Carbogenics is pleased to announce the launch of a new collaborative project supported by IBioIC, working alongside Scottish Water and the Environmental Research Institute from the University of the Highlands and Islands (ERI/UHI). Table of contents. No headings were found on this page. Starting in July 2026, the project will investigate an innovative approach to addressing one of the water sector's emerging challenges: the removal of Emerging Contaminants (pharmaceutical, PFAS, Personal Care Products, Hormones/endocrine-disrupting compounds, Pesticides, Microplastics) from wastewater. The project will explore how wastewater screening waste - an unavoidable by-product generated during wastewater treatment - can be converted into FilaChar(R), Carbogenics' patent-pending carbon material, and subsequently applied to remove pharmaceutical contaminants from wastewater streams. This work builds on Carbogenics' vision of transforming wastewater-derived waste into valuable treatment resources. Rather than sending screening waste to landfill, the project will assess how it can be converted into a functional carbon material capable of delivering environmental and operational benefits within the water sector. Emerging Contaminants are receiving increasing attention due to their persistence in aquatic environments and the challenges associated with removing them through conventional treatment processes. Through this project, the partners will focus on pharmaceutical removal and investigate whether wastewater-derived carbon materials can provide an effective and more circular solution to targeting these. The collaboration brings together complementary expertise from across industry and academia: * Carbogenics' expertise in engineered biochar production * Scottish Water's operational knowledge and understanding of real-world wastewater treatment challenges * ERI/UHI's scientific and analytical capabilities in environmental technologies and water treatment research Dr Loïc De Carvalho, Head of R&D & Consulting at Carbogenics, said: "This project represents an exciting opportunity to investigate how waste materials generated within wastewater treatment systems can be transformed into part of the solution. By exploring the use of wastewater-derived carbon materials for pollutants removal, we are continuing to develop innovative approaches that support circular and decarbonisation solutions through both resource recovery and environmental protection." Tamsyn Kennedy of Scottish Water commented: "The water sector continues to explore new approaches to addressing emerging contaminants while improving resource efficiency. This project offers an opportunity to better understand how recovered materials could contribute to future treatment solutions, and we're pleased to be collaborating with Carbogenics and ERI/UHI on this important work." Dr Szabolcs Pap of Environmental Research Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands added: "Collaborative projects such as this demonstrate the value of bringing together industrial and academic expertise to tackle complex environmental challenges. Through rigorous scientific evaluation, we aim to generate evidence on the effectiveness of wastewater-derived carbon materials and their potential role in supporting more sustainable wastewater treatment processes." Together, the partners aim to generate evidence on the effectiveness of wastewater-derived carbon materials for pharmaceutical removal while exploring a more circular approach to waste management within the water sector. The project represents another step towards lower-carbon, resource-efficient wastewater treatment systems that recover value from waste, protect aquatic environments, and support the transition to a circular economy. Carbogenics, Scottish Water and ERI/UHI look forward to sharing progress and results as the project develops over the coming months.