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River Extraction

Bedford Pumps supply high energy river extraction pumps to transfer raw river water at variable flow rates. 

The pumps for Prioress Mill River Water Extraction Pumping Station will extract water from the River Usk to Llandegfedd Reservoir, approximately 4.5km away.  The reservoir supplies Sluvad Water Treatment Works (WTW) which in turn supplies a large proportion of South East Wales.

The contract between Bedford Pumps and Skanska, in partnership with Arcadis as the Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water Capital Delivery Partners, is for the design, manufacture and testing of four high flow 1.7 MW pumpsets, and two low flow 710 kW vertically suspended bowl pumps.  The pumps are sized to accommodate the maximum licenced abstraction rates from the river Usk throughout the annual cycle.  The high flow pumpsets have an installed weight of over 20,000 Kg.


The new pumping station system is designed to transfer raw river water, screened to 2mm by new intake fish protection screens, to Llandegfedd reservoir via a common delivery manifold, and a combination of 42”/48” parallel rising mains.  The large variation in abstracted flows yields a considerable operating range of transfer duties, which is to be accommodated using multiple pumps operating in parallel where necessary. 

River Extraction