Esh Civils begins major repair and maintenance wastewater project

Esh Civils, the civil engineering division of Esh Construction, has begun the Framework Contract to provide reactive repairs and maintenance of approximately 16,000km of Northumbrian Water’s sewerage network across its Southern operating area.

This includes repairs and maintenance works, the provision of 24/7/365 emergency call out cover, sewer cleansing, CCTV services, blockage clearance, root cutting, mapping and other associated services on the sewerage network.

The services will largely be reactive emergency works in response to customer contacts and other short-term work where there is an immediate and repeated adverse impact on customer service or other serviceability measures. The service will resolve issues that are causing or likely to cause uncontrolled escapes from sewers leading to property and curtilage flooding and pollution events.

The c.£5m-per-year Wastewater Networks Framework for Northumbrian Water will run for at least two years and dovetail with the existing services provided in the Northern Region. The appointment to the framework means that Esh is the sole provider of these services throughout the Northumbrian Water operating area, which covers the 12 local authority areas of the North East and Teesside. This will bring an improved customer experience and provide greater efficiency in delivery, allowing collaborative teams to work alongside each other through co-located operational and management centres based throughout the region.

The award has meant a large capital investment in plant, vehicles and training, all of which have been procured locally and has also allowed 22 people to be TUPE transferred into roles within Esh Construction, along with creation of 10 new jobs.

David Pratt, Divisional Director of Esh Civils, said: “We are extremely proud for Northumbrian Water to show the commitment to ESH to become the sole provider of wastewater repair and maintenance services across its full operating region. This long-term relationship is a testament to our front-line teams and the customer-focused approach bred from our local base here in the North East.”

The framework will also deliver a comprehensive Social Value package, with work supporting Esh’s ‘Constructing Local’ strategy, as well as Northumbrian Water’s ‘Just an Hour’ scheme.

Having Esh Civils now operating in both the North and South areas of our Northern operating area should provide our customers with an assurance that their issues are investigated and resolved efficiently and effectively.

Benn Elsey, Commercial Contracts Manager at Northumbrian Water