Anyone going down Chapel Lane will have noticed a sandstone building that looks like small church. Most people refer to it as the Pumping Station – that terminology is incorrect. It is what’s known as a Valve House. In fact on the front door of the building can be seen the words ‘United Utilities Rainhill VH.It is however no longer in use – a new more modern one having been built adjacent to it, but to understand how it originally worked we need to go across to Wales and Lake Vyrnwy.
Lake Vyrnwy and its associated impounding dam, treatment facility and aquaduct was built by the then Liverpool City Corporation and completed in the 1880’s. The objective of this project was to supply the people of Liverpool some 68 miles away as the crow flies, with a wholesome and constant source of drinking water.
After initial treatment at Vrynwy, the water flows by gravity (i.e. unpumped) within the aquaduct which consists of three 42 inch cast iron pipes lined with bitumen. It travels across the Cheshire Plain, under the River Mersey in a nine foot tunnel and then crosses the Mersey Plain until it reaches Rainhill under Chapel Lane. Should there be a burst downstream, the Valve House is able to shut down the three aquaduct pipes.
The ongoing condition of the aquaduct was continually monitored by a team of personnel whose job it was to walk along the route of the pipeline testing for leaks. A major burst in a pipeline of this size would cause widespread damage to buildings and fields, thus preventative maintenance is imperative.
Acknowledgement: John Corns