Springfield Primary School Attenuation Tank and Drainage

Client: West Berkshire Council

Budget: £192,000

Department: Highways and Engineering (Infrastructure Solutions)

Completed: September 2025

Summary

ODS Highways tendered for West Berkshire Council to undertake drainage works consisting of installing a 400m2 attenuation tank and various other drainage to relieve the school of constant flooding in adverse weather.

Requirements

To start and finish the project within the summer holiday break of six weeks.

Set up and set out levels in accordance with the design.

Excavate each element of the project and seek sign off of every connection from Building control.

Install a 400m2 attenuation tank along with the three main chambers and install a Hydro brake within the system.

Reinstate the running track which was relayed over the attenuation tank.

Complete new line marking in the playground after the trench work was completed.

Challenges

Time was the biggest challenge. This was a huge project to deliver with many elements to bring it all together in a very tight time frame.  

To dig out 565m3 of waste and dispose of it using the correct waste management plan. 

Existing levels across the site was a key challenge, and communication with the designers over levels and design were key to remain on point.

Solutions

Works were phased to be completed in smaller sections to limit the Health and Safety risks of the works. School was closed, with access through locked gates controlled by ODS.

Initially a nine-week programme, the team worked longer days, and over weekends and bank holidays which reduced the length of the project to fit within the summer holiday.

Trenches were excavated and connections and runs all layed within the same day so they could be signed off by building control the very next morning and then completed.

To dig out and dispose of the waste, we used eight-wheeled lorries on mass four times a day until it was all gone. 

Daily briefings were conducted with the school management team to inform them of works planned and progress made.

Results

The draining and resurfacing project was successfully completed, significantly improving the issues the school had previously faced.

Client Testimonial

"The whole process, from the initial meeting to the completed project was handled extremely professionally. We cannot thank Matt enough for his regular communications and for being on site daily. The work force were very polite, tidy and went beyond what we had previously experienced in terms of building projects. They worked across the whole of the holidays and weekends.

The project was completed 3 weeks earlier than expected which meant the start of the school term went ahead without any issues.

Thank you ODS."

Sarah East, Headteacher, Springfield Primary School

Before

During

After