Green light for Turret turbine

Jun 26 2009 by Lynn Duke, Strathearn Herald

THE Turret Water Treatment Works (WTW) are now well on the way to completion having passed the halfway stage.

Last week MSP Roseanna Cunningham gave the new Turret turbine the ‘green’ light when she unveiled the modern, environmentally friendly generator, which is a key feature of Scottish Water’s £30 million investment at the Glen Turret site.

The turbine (one of two on site) will not only be capable of powering the works, but will also deliver enough electricity back into the grid to supply 450 homes.

The project began with 9,000m3 of rock being excavated from the site. This was retained for use in building the foundations, and top soil from the excavation will also be used in landscaping the works so that they blend into the surrounding hills.

Turret is the highest WTW in the UK, at more than 1,000ft above sea level, and is often battered by winds in excess of 60mph.

Its height allows the treated water to directly feed communities in Perthshire, Stirlinghshire, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire with clearer, fresher drinking water, and replaces the need for energy-sapping pumps.

Project Manager David Crawford believes customers will appreciate the team’s attention to detail and benefits to the local environment. He said: “Once completed, the Turret WTW will be able to deliver up to 85 million litres of clear, fresh drinking water every day. That’s enough to fill more than 30 Olympic sized swimming pools a day. Even during times of extreme weather, the works, which is often submerged in cloud, will be able to treat this volume of raw water.”

Scottish Water’s Regional Communities Manager for Perthshire, Anne Marie Dewar added: “This efficient and modern water treatment works will help us deliver improved quality drinking water to this community and those along the length of its pipeline for generations to come.”

And, to promote their links with the local community, Scottish Water recently invited ten children from St Dominic’s Primary School up to the dam to participate in some outdoor science lessons. Simone Medonos and Grace Rose-Miller from the Scottish Water Solutions Environment Team were on hand to teach the children about the wildlife living on and around the banks of Loch Turret.