Flood response and clean-up at Carlisle service station
Published: 10 March 2020
The project
Adler and Allan were engaged by Shell/CBRE in December 2015, following the flooding of a service station located in Carlisle, which was caused by extensive rainfall. Initially, Adler and Allan was asked to sample and test the fuel in the underground storage tanks for water ingress, as there were concerns that the fuel may no longer be fit for purpose.
The solution
Adler and Allan’s arrived the very next day. Engineers carried out extensive top-middle-bottom sampling of the stored fuel, checking the quality and whether it had been affected by the flooding. Water ingress had occurred not only in the tanks but there had been extensive flood damage inside the retail unit of the forecourt, damaging food, confectionery and automotive products. Adler and Allan dispatched teams of specialist engineers to clear the flood-damaged stock, carefully managing the waste stream by separating food waste from non-food based items to enable them to be lifted to the correct destination as appropriate - always adhering to strict waste disposal guidelines. The shop was cleared and recommendations put forward for the uplift and polishing of the contaminated fuel. The site has currently been ‘mothballed’ due to the forthcoming refit deemed necessary following the flood; if this had not been the case, Adler and Allan would have also undertaken a full site clean and sanitisation programme. Interceptors and ACO drains were cleaned and oily water removed by our ADR spec vac tankers for safe disposal. The extent of the damage in the shop also meant it was necessary to uplift the refrigerated units which had become wedged behind storeroom doors, preventing access. These had to be removed in order to complete the clean-up. In addition, the Adler and Allan team had to consider sewage and Weils disease ensuring correct PPE and hygiene regimes were carefully adhered to.
The outcome
After just two days on-site, the Adler and Allan team had gross cleaned the site, enabling Shell/CBRE to assess the extent of the damage and begin planning for the store refit. As a result of the fast action and care taken on this project, Shell/CBRE will be considering Adler & Allan’s extensive range of flood mitigation products to help protect/limit their site against any future flooding. We have recommended non-return valves in the foul drains to prevent water ingress through the sewage outlets, self closing air bricks, and the provision of SoakBags to be used to protect doorways from approaching flood water.
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