A Valve, a Van, and a 450‑Mile Round Trip

How Same day Delivery Prevented Disruption at Ford Treatment Works 

When critical infrastructure fails, the clock starts ticking. At Southern Water’s Ford Wastewater Treatment Works, just outside the historic town of Arundel with its iconic Roman cathedral, that clock began the moment a failed valve was identified on site. Ford is not a small or forgiving operation; it’s a major treatment works serving over 130,000 people and processing up to 62 million litres of wastewater every single day. 

Any prolonged downtime here doesn’t just cause operational headaches; it risks environmental non-compliance, reputational damage, and the kind of headlines no water company wants. 

This is how T-T helped avoid a potential crisis - with one valve, one van, and a same-day delivery that made all the difference. 

The Challenge 

Ford Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) and Sludge Treatment Centre (STC) have been operational since 1999 and play a vital role in Southern Water’s network. In addition to treating local wastewater, it also handles imported liquid sludge and septic waste from other sites, making reliability non-negotiable. 

The site includes inlet works and primary settlement tanks, biological filters and humus tanks, sludge processing facilities and a combined Heat and Power plant which generates renewable energy 

Like many long-established wastewater sites, Ford has also faced challenges: hydrogen sulphide corrosion, odour control requirements, flood‑risk considerations and ongoing infrastructure upgrades. 

So, when a butterfly valve failed, the concern wasn’t theoretical. The site team had already lost confidence in the existing framework product, and time was not on their side. 

Southern Water needed: 

That’s when T‑T got the call. 

The Solution:  

Fortunately, this wasn’t a sourcing exercise - it was a logistics exercise. 

T‑T Flow® held a DN300 Quartlock® butterfly valve in stock that matched the application requirements. No long lead times. No compromises. No workarounds. 

Within hours, one of our T-T Vans was dispatched directly from our headquarters, and the valve was on its way to site; a whopping 450‑mile round trip was underway. 

What made the Quartlock butterfly valve the best solution? 

The valve supplied was a Quartlock® wafer-centric compact butterfly valve, designed specifically for demanding water and wastewater applications. 

Key Technical Features 

This design ensures reliable shut‑off, smooth operation, and long service life - even in aggressive wastewater environments 

The result 

What could have escalated into a disruptive incident became a routine maintenance event - quietly resolved before it ever reached the public radar. 

This case wasn’t just about having the right valve. It was about having it on the shelf, ready to move. 

For utilities and contractors alike, emergency scenarios don’t wait for manufacturing schedules. Stock availability, technical knowledge, and decisive logistics are often what separate a near miss from a full-blown disruption.