The surface water-treatment compound at the tunnel portal — collecting, treating and discharging all ingress and process water from the drive in one organised, compliant set-up.
The parent application — treatment across the whole drive.
High-volume pumping and treatment for excavation dewatering.
Reuse treated portal water across the works.
Flow estimation, treatment-train sizing and discharge compliance.
Almost all the water pumped out of a tunnel arrives at the portal, so the portal compound is where treatment lives. Space is tight, the plant must be quiet and tidy for a public-facing location, and it has to take everything from clean fissure water to grout-laden slugs. We lay out the portal compound around the dewatering rate — buffer, clarification, pH correction, polishing and a monitored discharge point — and integrate it with the site’s wheel-wash and reuse so the whole water cycle is managed in one place.
An Organised Surface Compound
A well-planned portal compound turns chaotic site drainage into a controlled, auditable process. We arrange buffering to absorb slugs, high-rate lamella clarification for the bulk solids load, automated pH correction for cement-affected water and filtration polishing, all sized for the peak combined flow. The discharge point is instrumented and logged, and treated water is split off for wheel-wash and dust suppression to cut both mains demand and the volume needing discharge.
Compound sized for the combined ingress and process water so the portal never floods.
Screened, acoustically considerate plant for a public-facing portal location.
Wheel-wash and dust-suppression supply taken from the treated stream.
Instrumented, logged discharge point for Trade Effluent compliance.
Working in a Tight, Visible Space
The portal is the most constrained and most visible part of the water system, taking the full, variable load of the drive.
Compact, stacked or containerised plant fits the treatment into a crowded compound.
Buffering flattens grout and excavation slugs before clarification.
Screening, bunding and tidy layout suit a portal in the public eye.
From Portal Sump to Discharge
A buffer tank smooths slugs for steady downstream treatment.
Plant We Build Into This Stage
Pre-assembled, road-transportable treatment trains that relocate as work advances.
View EquipmentHigh-rate inclined-plate settlers cut suspended solids in a compact footprint.
View EquipmentAutomated acid or CO² dosing neutralises high-pH cement-affected water.
View EquipmentCoagulant and polymer dosing grows settleable floc from colloidal fines.
View EquipmentMultimedia and pressure filters polish settled water to tight TSS limits.
View EquipmentSediment and suspended-solids removal for tunnel construction water.
View EquipmentWhy Choose Reynolds & Bauhm
Explore Tunnelling Dewatering
Talk to our engineers about a system sized for your tunnel, flow and discharge consent.
Our expertise spans multiple industries with sector-specific water treatment solutions.