David Plumb & Co digs deep at Crawley

While excavating redundant fuel tanks at a large service station in Crawley, West Sussex, tank cleaning and forecourt decommissioning specialist David Plumb & Co once again showed that it is up for almost any challenge – including constant flooding and unexpected tanks.

Says David Plumb & Co managing director Kathy Early: “The site was at a place called Lowfield Heath, which we discovered was an apt name, as the ground was low and the water table high. Every evening our team would pump the excavation dry and every morning they discovered a lake instead of a hole.”

The added problem was that, as it was the lowest ground in the area and there was no main sewer, there was nowhere to pump the water to, so 34,500 gallons of water had to be taken away by tanker.

The David Plumb team also ended up doing almost twice as much work as they first thought when they discovered that, as well as the three 8,000-gallon and one 5,000-gallon tank the company was booked to clean, gas-free and remove, there was also a pre-1950s tank farm, with four smaller slurry-filled tanks that also needed excavating.

An added complication was that the team also discovered that, when the station had been upgraded in the past, the water and electrical supply for the Gatwick Airport car park behind the site had been laid over the top of the old tanks. So, the whole project had to be delayed until the utilities companies could move their services.

Says David Plumb site supervisor, Gary Reeve: “This effectively split the job into two parts, with the first part taking four weeks and the second part, after the services had been moved, taking three weeks.

“We also had the added problem of having to work with restricted height, as the client wanted to keep the canopy in place. That is normally one of the first things to go, to make sure we have plenty of room.”

Says Kathy Early: “While we prepare, research and scan the ground as carefully as possible, there are always surprises, but our operatives are well trained and experienced enough to deal with almost anything.”

The project was part of a continuing contract – carried out through Romford, East London, based contractor Stiffell & Wilson – to decommission a series of former Esso service station sites, which have, for various reasons, become surplus to requirements.

4 January 2006

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