Ashford Water Treatment Works — Concrete Repairs

Introduction

Wessex Water is a leading UK utility provider, supplying over 1.3 million people across the South West. Their Ashford Water Treatment Works (WTW) in Somerset serves as a flagship facility and education centre. Over time, aggressive chemical exposure from the treatment process severely degraded the reinforced concrete tanks, resulting in up to 20mm of concrete loss. A proven, long-term repair solution was essential to restore structural integrity and ensure continued performance.

Our Solution

UCL Ltd collaborated with Flexcrete to deliver a fast, comprehensive repair and protection system designed to exceed a 20-year service life.

• Preparation: Initial works required high-pressure water jetting across 3,600m² of concrete to remove the weak, contaminated 20mm surface layer.
• Reinstatement: All surfaces were completely reinstated to their original thickness using Monolevel 844 SP. It was spray-applied to achieve the correct depth and hand-finished for a clean, level surface.
• Priming: The floor was cleaned and primed with Flexcrete Polymer Admixture 850 to eliminate the risk of outgassing.
• Protection: The final step involved applying two 1mm spray-applied coats of Flexcrete Cementitious Coating 851. This Regulation 31(4)(a) approved system forms a highly durable, waterborne barrier against acid gases, moisture and chlorides.

Key Benefits

• Arrested further concrete degradation caused by chemical attack
• Application of a proven coating with a 20+ year design life
• Non-toxic and safe for use in potable water environments
• Resistant to positive and negative pressure up to 100m head
• 2mm coating provides equivalent protection to 100mm of good quality concrete
• Minimal application hazard due to water-based chemistry
• Backed by over 24 years of independent chloride resistance testing

Conclusion

This large-scale refurbishment project at Ashford WTW has fully reinstated the structural integrity and chemical resistance of the site's concrete infrastructure. UCL Ltd's partnership with Flexcrete ensured the delivery of a technically advanced, long-term protective system, aligning with Wessex Water's high operational standards. For critical water sector infrastructure, UCL Ltd delivers compliant, proven repair systems with industry-recognised performance.