Wixoe Pumping Station: Flood Defence Coating with Volkerstevin
Specialist Painting Group secured the flood defence contract for Wixoe Pumping Station in Suffolk, working with principal contractor Volkerstevin. The project required mechanical preparation and coating of the eight mild steel guide channels that house the pumping station’s sluice gates.
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The Role of Wixoe Pumping Station
Pumping stations and sluice gates play a critical role in managing water levels and protecting communities from flooding. Their steelwork spends much of its life wet or submerged, which makes it highly vulnerable to corrosion. If guide channels deteriorate, the gates they carry may not operate reliably when they are needed most.
Preparing the Wixoe Pumping Station Sluice Channels
Before any coating work could begin, the site had to be made safe and workable. The area was drained, and two temporary sluice gates were installed to manage the flow of water from the reservoir and the adjacent watercourse.
Even with the temporary gates in place, some water continued to leak into the working area. A temporary pump was positioned at the base of the working environment to remove it continuously, keeping the channels as dry as possible during preparation and application.
SPG then used an innovative mechanical preparation technique to achieve a recognised blast profile on the eight steel guide channels. A good surface profile gives the coating a key to grip, which is essential for long term adhesion in a wet environment.
A Coating That Cures Underwater
The specified coating system was a modified two component epoxy designed to be applied to wet surfaces. Crucially, it continues to cure even when submerged, so the channels could return to service without waiting for the coating to dry out completely.
This type of system is well suited to flood defence applications, where steel may never be fully dry and where downtime needs to be kept short. It provides long lasting protection for the pumping station infrastructure. Find out more about our corrosion protection services.
Coating Challenges in Flood Defence Work
Flood defence assets, many of them managed by the Environment Agency and its contractors, combine difficult access with constant exposure to water. Successful coating work depends on temporary works to control water, surface preparation suited to damp conditions and coating systems formulated to tolerate them. Wixoe Pumping Station brought all three together.
Planning a Coating Project
Every successful coating project starts with understanding the condition of the existing coating and the steel beneath it. A survey identifies where the coating has failed, how far corrosion has progressed and whether the old system can be overcoated or needs to be removed completely. That information shapes the choice of surface preparation method and the new coating specification.
SPG supports asset owners through each of these stages, from coating inspection and specification advice through to preparation and application. Projects such as Wixoe Pumping Station show how the right plan, agreed at the outset, keeps work safe, efficient and on programme.
Why Surface Profile Matters in Wet Conditions
Coatings on submerged and splash zone steel face constant attack from water, and any weakness in adhesion is quickly exploited. A recognised surface profile increases the area the coating can grip and helps it resist being undercut by moisture. Achieving that profile by mechanical means, rather than open blasting, was a key part of making the Wixoe Pumping Station works practical in a confined and wet environment. Where open blasting is suitable, our abrasive blast cleaning team can deliver high standards of preparation on larger areas.
Why Choose SPG
Specialist Painting Group has delivered industrial coating projects since 1997. Our operatives are ICATS certified, and we hold RISQS, SafeContractor, ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 accreditations, giving clients the competence, safety management and quality systems they expect from a specialist contractor.
SPG works across waterways, utilities and other demanding environments. See the sectors we work in, or contact us to discuss your flood defence project.
