A budding young engineer from Prudhoe, recently took a trip around two of Northumbrian Water′s sites to see how civil engineering theory is put into practice.
Matt Beattie, aged 18, was following the work of Northumbrian Water′s Rainwise surface water management project in Ovingham, on the company′s Community Portal website.
Taking a keen interest in the work, he contacted the project team, wanting to know more about the engineering work that was taking place.
Together with their contractors, Esh-MWH, the project team invited Matt, who studies at Prudhoe Community High School, to the site to see how projects develop from plans on a page, to real-life construction.
The team also took Matt for a look around the new Horsley Water Treatment Works, which is the biggest engineering job that Northumbrian Water and their contractors Doosan-Interserve are currently working on.
Matt said: "I′ve taken a lot away from my visits. At Ovingham, I was able to see how plans linked with real life projects and was able to ask lots of questions. At Horsley, the site was on a huge scale and it was great to see new and innovative technology being used to protect and improve the North East′s water supply.
"I learned a lot about the role of engineers in these types of projects, and in the water industry as a whole. I can′t thank the team enough for arranging the visit and it has really helped me gain a wider knowledge of Civil Engineering."
Ian Davison, Project Manager for Northumbrian Water, said: "It′s great to see young engineers taking an interest in the work that we do and we really enjoyed having Matt with us for the day.
"Visits like this help to give young people a valuable insight into the civil engineering and the water industry and helps put theory into practice. I′m pleased to hear that Matt found the visit both interesting and useful and I expect to see him working on projects of his own in the future!"
Northumbrian Water is a great place to work, with strong career opportunities. Anybody interested in learning more about careers in the water industry, and curriculum-based activities, can visit www.nwl.co.uk/careers.
To follow the progress of the Rainwise project in Ovingham and the Horsley Water Treatments upgrade, visit www.nwlcommunityportal.co.uk.