IT may not look like much at the moment but this site in Midlothian is set to provide drinking water for 450,000 people in the Capital and beyond.
Scottish Water is replacing ageing water treatment facilities at Fairmilehead and Alnwickhill with a new "sunken" plant at Glencorse, on the edge of the Pentland Hills Regional Park.
Excavation work on the 40-acre Midlothian site began in the sum
mer and is now set to gather pace with the erection of two large cranes for the start of the construction work.
Once up and running, it will deliver up to 175 million litres of water a day – enough to fill the Commonwealth Pool 70 times.
Richard Anderson, senior project manager, said: "We have been fortunate in that the project has not been affected by bad weather. That has allowed us to ensure that construction is remaining on schedule.
"In February, we will bring in two large cranes to take forward the construction.
"Some 50,000 cubic metres of concrete will be used, along with around 7000 tonnes of steel reinforcement, to create the foundations and walls of the new structure."
The new plant is due to be completed by early 2011 and will cost just under £130 million – nearly twice as much as first expected.
The proposals for Glencorse won planning permission last year after modifications were made to the original scheme.
The main buildings of the complex were to be as tall as 15 metres, before Scottish Water was sent back to the drawing board and came up with designs for a "sunken" plant, only visible eight metres above ground.
The layout has also been adjusted to accommodate the remains of a Roman camp.
Around 200 workers will be on site, with the construction of the main building walls expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Work is also set to begin on the creation of 20km of new pipeline running from the Glencorse works to Edinburgh.
Other work will replace around 50km of ageing mains in the Edinburgh area after investigations found many were more than 100 years old and at risk of bursts or leaks.
A number of measures are being employed by Scottish Water to lessen the environmental impact of the project.
The structure will be concealed under Scotland's largest green roof, which will harvest and divert rainwater into new wetland habitats for birds and other species.
New hydro turbines will be created to produce much of the electricity needed to work the plant and, in a world first, a temporary mobile pipe manufacturing plant will be set up to create the bespoke lengths of plastic pipes that will carry water along the new Glencorse-Edinburgh pipeline. It is estimated this will reduce lorry journeys delivering pipes to the project by 75 per cent.
