Our project team held a live web chat with schools. The questions and answers are published below.

We're donating £100 to WaterAid for the questions - well done and thanks to the school who took part.

 

 Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: Have you enjoyed the webchat? How many questions do you think you have answered? (Another £10 for WaterAid)

A:  It's been a pleasure to be involved in the web chat. We've been asked many interesting questions and we've lost track of how many we've answered!

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: Why did you choose to lay the pipes in the first place? Was there not another way to get water to the Island? (Another £10 for WaterAid)

A:   We looked at lots of different options including taking more water from the rivers and underground sources on the Island, but there was not enough available. We also looked at building a new reservoir on the Island to store rainwater, but the geology of the Island isn't suitable. We even considered desalination but it was very expensive and uses a lot of energy. The pipeline option was the most secure, best value and best for the environment.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: How do your control the correct amount of water to go to the pipes? (Another £10 for WaterAid)

A: The water is pumped at various amounts depending on how much water people on the Isle of Wight are using. Computer controls on the pumps are used to vary the amount as needed.  

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: How far down are the pipes from the surface of the sea? (Another £10 for WaterAid)Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: How many hours does it take to lay a pipe? (Another £10 for WaterAid)

A: The sea is more than 20 metres deep in places and the pipe is then another 1 metre below the seabed.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: How long does it take to manufacture the pipes? (Another £10 for WaterAid)

A: The pipe is made in four layers and takes around two days to manufacture each of the layers. Because they are special pipes they are made in only a few factories in the world so they have to be ordered well in advance.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: Are you enjoying this project? Do you find it interesting? (Another £10 for WaterAid)

A: Yes. It's a great project to be involved in. Tony says that it's the sort of thing you only get involved in once in a career.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: Is it difficult to lay the pipes in the correct place? (Another £10 for WaterAid)

A: it is difficult because of the currents in the Solent. However, we can use special satellite systems which keep track of where the pipes are being positioned.

Q: Hunton CEP School, Kent: How many houses are attached and using the water from these pipes?  (That's £10 for WaterAid)

A: About 50,000 households on the Island will be connected.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: How long does the water take to travel through the pipes?

A: That's a great question! We've just got our calculators out for that one! Trevor thinks about an hour.

Q: Hunton CEP School, Kent: Will the Island have water while you are attaching the new pipe?

A: Yes. We have sufficient local resources and storage in the Island reservoirs. This is the reason why we are doing this now, rather than in the summer, when the water demand will be higher.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent:  How did they invent the pipes? And why are these pipes good for this job?

A: Our pipes were designed in Denmark. The special re-inforcement around our pipes was originally used for protecting electricity cables. These were re-designed for use on our water pipes.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: How much water will go through the pipes each day?

Normally we will transfer up to 12 million litres of water a day, but the pipes will be capable of transferring up to 20 million litres of water every day if needed. We each use about 160 litres of water each day.

Q: Hunton CEP School, Kent: How many people are working on the project

We have had more than 100 people working on the project, this includes engineers, environmental scientists, specialist drilling teams and marine contractors.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: How will you stop water leaking out of the pipes?

Each pipe has only two joints which will be tested for leaks in a pressure check after they have been installed. The joints are carefully put together by divers using flanges (special joints with bolts) which are designed to be watertight.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: Why do you need two pipes?

A: To make sure we can still supply water to the Island if one is damaged or put out of operation for any reason.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: How do the pipes give water to the Isle of Wight?

A: The water comes from our treatment works at Testwood in Southampton. The raw water is taken from the River Test and treated before being pumped to the Isle of Wight through the pipelines.

Q: How will you stop ships laying their anchor on the pipes?

A: The pipes are being laid in a 'no-anchor' corridor where the ships are not allowed to drop their anchor.

Q: Leigh primary School, Kent: How are you protecting the environment whilst you are digging and disturbing the seabed?

A: The method we have chosen to install the pipe is considered environmentally-friendly. We are jetting the seabed to make space for the pipe. This jetting is no more damaging than the natural movement during tides.

Q: Hunton CEP School, Kent: How will you protect the new pipe from any damage from boats?

A: The pipes have steel re-inforcement and are also being buried about 1 metre under the seabed. The joints have additional protection with concrete 'mattresses'. They are also being laid in a 'no-anchor' corridor where ships are not allowed to weigh anchor.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent:  How big is the drill you are using?

A: About 60cms in diameter.

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent:  How long will it take to lay the pipes?

A: The pipes under the seabed will each take one week to be laid, there are two pipes so approximately 2 weeks.

Q: Hunton CEP School, Kent: How long will the new pipes last?

 A: The pipes have been designed to last for at least 60 years.

Our team have been discussing some of the questions that are often asked about our project, including:

Q: Why do we need more water for the Island?

A: There isn't enough water available on the Island for the people who live there and all the visitors in the summer. We take water from the underground rock aquifers and the River Yar (Eastern) but this is not sufficient to supply everybody round the clock. So, we need to bring extra water from Hampshire through the pipelines to make up the shortfall.

Q: Why are replacing the pipes now?

A: One of the existing pipes has been damaged in the past, by a boat anchor and, although it was repaired,  it will need to be replaced. For the future we'll need bigger pipes to meet the needs of all the residents and visitors on the Island.

 

 

 

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: What will happen if sea water gets into the pipes? (Another £10 for WaterAid)

Q: Leigh Primary School, Kent: How long are the pipes?

A: The total length from the Island to the mainland is about 4km, the two pipes that lay under the seabed are each 2km long. We are getting ready to install the pipes under the seabed during the next couple of weeks.

Q: How do we get our water now?

A: There are two pipes that run across the Solent to the Island, but they are quite old now and we are now replacing them. We also have water from underground sources and from the River Eastern Yar.

Q: What percent of water comes from the Island and what percent of water from the mainland?

 A: A quarter of the water (25%) comes from the mainland. The other 75% comes from the sources on the Isle of Wight.

Q: What are the new pipes made of?

A: The pipes are made of a special plastic with steel reinforcement.