News

The emergency repairs are underway into the unblocking of a sewer in Urmston, with the engineers from water company United Utilities making use of an uncommon tunnelling technique to dig their way in.

As the drainage team begin the work to replace a large pipe beneath Flixton Road which had been filled in with concrete, engineers have positioned wooden supports enabling them to dig beneath a labyrinth of important cables and pipes placed above the sewer pipe.

United Utilities wastewater manager, Ian Fullalove, said:

“This is an extremely delicate operation. We cannot risk damaging any of the essential water, gas, electricity and phone lines which are blocking our access to the sewer, so we are having to go underneath them.

“We have tried to remove the concrete from inside the sewer using a cutting device, but it’s such a tough material – filling more than 25m of the pipe – that progress was too slow. What we are doing now is like a cross between brain surgery and The Great Escape.”

The sewer, which is 7 metres in depth, will need to be taken out by each section and replaced.

It is expected that the repair work will continue well into April, with regular updates provided to residents and local businesses along the way.

Sheffield residents have been invited by regional water company Yorkshire Water to find out more about the benefits of the Blackburn Meadows sewage treatment works scheme.

The customer drop-in event is being held this Tuesday to let the local people know more about the £78 million plans to update the current system.

If you want to see what the water company have to say on the subject, and to air your own views, you can turn up at Tinsley Green Community Centre on Norborough Road.

As well as being informed about the work to reduce the flooding risk in Sheffield, you can learn more about how the environment will be affected too, with the scheme aiming to improve the quality of river water in addition to giving a boost to biodiversity.

The work is set to go ahead at the end of this month and will last until September 2014 as most of the treatment facilities at the plant will have to be replaced.

Yorkshire Water Project Manager, Kevin Smith, said:

“This iconic works is nestled right in the heart of Sheffield’s industrial waterfront, and like many works in the area, it has to move with the times. We are significantly changing the face of Blackburn Meadows to create a much cleaner, healthier environment for residents and riverlife alike.”

It has been reported recently that a 100-year-old sewerage system in the cathedral city of Salisbury in Wiltshire has now been repaired, thanks to a £200,000 renovation project.

Almost 500 metres of pipework was either replaced or relined due to damage in certain areas. A drain inspection managed to highlight the problem with the CCTV survey showing that it was a serious enough issue that needed to be addressed.

In fact, Wessex Water’s Alex Aulds revealed that if no action had been taken to rectify the situation, the sewers were at risk of collapsing or bursting in the near future.

While the drain engineers were at work, a number of traffic diversions and road closures had to be put in place as temporary measures.

Mr Aulds added that now the problem had been addressed, they did not foresee any further issues when he said:

“The sewers now have an expected longevity of 100 years and the work will ensure that any future risk of collapse or damage is significantly reduced.”

Trenchless technology was used to ensure the work could be completed within the specific timeframe, with these techniques meaning the road did not have to be dug up so the workers could gain access to the sewer.

The recent sewer upgrade work which has just begun in Hessle, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, is just part of a larger investment to be spread across the region.

While £770,000 has been put aside for the town, the water company is to devote £120 million to making sure that treatment facilities and the sewer network are up to standard.

Those homeowners that may have suffered from sewer flooding in the past will be the main beneficiaries of these works as the investment will reduce the risk for hundreds of homes throughout Yorkshire.

When storm conditions are prevalent, there is a greater risk that the sewer system will not be able to cope and so flooding was often the unfortunate result of this.

Yorkshire Water has made sure that locals are aware of what is being planned for their area and how they can stand to benefit from these works.

Yorkshire Water project manager, Dominic Cunney, said:

“We believe, like our customers, that sewer flooding is unacceptable. And whilst we can’t tackle the problem by ourselves, this latest investment underlines our continuing commitment to playing our part in helping to reduce the risk of sewer flooding to our customers and operating as a responsible company dedicated to providing customers with the best possible service.”

Shop owners in the Lincolnshire town of Holbeach received some great news this week that many had been waiting for nearly 20 years – drainage work has now been started in Fleet Street.

People had complained that spray from flooding that collects during periods of heavy rain had ruined buildings and caused many more issues for residents and business owners.

Lincolnshire County Council are now looking to solve the problem once and for all after being granted funding from the Flood Defence Grant In Aid Scheme, run by the Environment Agency, which has agreed to contribute nearly all of the £75,000 in costs for this work to proceed.

After a particularly bad flash storm flooding incident in 2007 where a river of water flowed by the Fleet Street shops, many called for action to be taken.

Engineers will be installing a new drainage pipe beneath the road as part of the scheme, while putting in manholes to discharge any excess water, taking it to the existing Damgate drainage system.

Coun Eddy Poll said:

“We’re delighted to have received this additional funding from the Environment Agency. These areas all have a history of flooding and we only have to think back to 2007 to remember the devastating impact that it can have on people’s lives.”

The Environment Agency has announced it is to provide a further £4.6million towards Todmorden’s flood defences.

This is all part of a scheme worth £32million in total that will offer protection to 658 properties at risk of flooding from Walsden Water.

To prevent it from overflowing, a wall spanning 500 metres is already being put in place by Rochdale Road.

These funds have been allocated for the 2012/13 financial year to provide better protection for homes and businesses in the Yorkshire area.

According to sources at the EA and Defra, £2.6million is to go towards schemes managed by local authorities, with £600,000 devoted to projects overseen by the Internal Drainage Boards within the region.

Despite this good news for those living in the region, regional flood and coastal risk manager Phil Younge has warned that people will still need to be ready for any adverse weather.

He explained:

“Whilst continued investment is crucial, flooding cannot always be prevented so communities must also take responsibility for being prepared – for example by signing up to the Environment Agency’s free flood warning service.”

The Environment Agency has targeted better protection for 145,000 nationwide by the year 2015 and is on track to exceed this at the present time.

Yorkshire Water has recently begun major works on sewer systems that will reduce the risk of flooding in Shipley West Yorkshire. This £600,000 upgrade project is being carried out in partnership with engineers Mott MacDonald Bentley.

The engineers are to improve the sewerage systems by installing a huge underground storage tank which has the capacity to hold up to 650,000 litres of wastewater at any time.

This work was given to go ahead in a bid to alleviate the risk of flooding to local residential properties in the Yorkshire town, which is not far from Bradford. Storm water will be collected in the tank during wet weather before being released into the sewer network.

Yorkshire Water has been looking at projects which are worthy of its £120million investment budget and these works to improve the sewer and treatment facilities will ensure that heavy rainfall is not able to cause the level of damage experienced in the past.

The upgrade, located off Bradford Road, was deemed to be necessary, especially with an increase in housing development throughout the region which has meant existing storage was at capacity levels.

Project manager at Yorkshire Water, Dominic Cunney, said:

“This work is being carried out to improve our sewerage system in the area and ensure its best placed to meet the growing demands it comes under, particularly during periods of exceptionally heavy rainfall.”

Fife Council has revealed that drainage problems were to blame for the delay of the planned road closure on City Road in St Andrews recently.

Resurfacing works were expected to begin on the road last week, but due to these unexpected circumstances this had to be put on hold until the drainage situation was sorted out.

It was originally planned to go ahead on 12 February and last until the following weekend, but it had to be postponed until the drainage maintenance had been carried out on the road. Once this was rectified the planned roundabout resurfacing project could finally go ahead.

When it comes to drainage in circumstances like this one, it is always wise to get the problem sorted out as soon as possible, so it is safe for motorists to use the road again. Any works in the pipeline can then resume once the drainage system has been inspected and it is deemed that flooding is not likely to be an issue.

Whether it is road drainage or a residential pipework situation, it is highly recommended you get the specialists in, leaving this essential work to an experienced drainage contractor.

Water companies such as United Utilities in the North West are very determined in educating those living in their area to understand more about what happens when items are disposed of in the wrong way.

This is certainly understandable when you consider that United Utilities is expected to cope with a minimum of 40,000 blockages in the sewerage system during 2012.

The latest Consumer Council for Water statistics show that around half of all sewer flooding cases and three quarters of sewer blockages are due to the fact that householders put unsuitable items down the sink or toilet.

One campaign which has been well-received by the public is the What Not To Flush campaign devised by United Utilities. This scheme was created to encourage their customers to be more considerate of their drain pipes, by avoiding doing the things that often lead to blockages in the system.

In this day and age with many convenient products entering the marketplace, it is easy to get complacent over what should and shouldn’t be allowed to enter the sewerage system. These flushable items are not what this term would suggest and so can cause problems with the flow of wastewater down there.

A survey carried out by north west water company United Utilities last year revealed some worrying findings for households up and down the country.

They looked at many items manufactured by the leading hygiene brands and found that the advice on their products was actually misleading their customers.

With many products like cotton wool, make-up wipes and baby wipes the packaging described them as being safe to dispose of down the toilet, or did not contain clear advice at all.

This has only served to compound the problem of people flushing away items that simply were not designed to enter the drainage and sewerage system.

In fact, the knock-on effect of this has led to thousands of families experiencing drainage problems such as wastewater flooding caused by these kinds of pipe blockages. As well as causing havoc in homes, this also has an effect on the flooding of roads, while river pollution is another concern.

Regional wastewater network manager for United Utilities, Mike Wood, said:

“These products are the bane of our sewer engineers’ lives. There is a wipe for everything these days, but most of these products don’t break down like toilet tissue, and so build up and form giant plugs in our sewers and customers’ toilet pipes.

“They are directly responsible for thousands of incidents of sewer flooding, yet all too often, disposal advice on these products is missing or misleading.”

According to recent reports the water company is set to put money towards an investigation of the sewerage and drainage systems in Goole, a town that was victim to flash flooding during the summer of 2010.

The study is to cost Yorkshire Water £275,000 to complete as it is all part of pump improvements recommended by a report published by East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

It was estimated that over 64mm in rainfall came down in within an hour resulting in widespread flooding of residential properties back in August of last year.

The water company admitted responsibility for the failed pumping station and so the study will form part of an assessment as to the suitability of the current drain systems in the town, with all pumps in the vicinity to be tested. Additional construction work on surface water sewers is being looked at too as they work together with the council.

Flood strategy manager at Yorkshire Water, Wendy Kimpton, said:

“No drainage system could realistically have been expected to cope with the sheer volume of rain which fell over a very short period on 3 August 2011.

“The subsequent flooding had a traumatic impact on many people in the town and it’s incumbent on all the agencies involved to continue to work together to minimise the risk of flooding in the future.”

Water companies are usually quite vocal when it comes to letting their customers know about the best ways to look after the drains servicing their homes. However, United Utilities is particularly active in the North West area and has a number of ongoing campaigns that highlight the problem of blocked drainage and how this can be avoided.

One of these campaigns is on their website and is aimed at parents. The Mums Know Best page is packed full of useful information to help mums and dads save time as well as money on maintaining their drains.

United Utilities is keen to point out that many bathroom products contain advice which is misleading to consumers. Research they conducted last year showed that everyday items like make-up wipes, cotton wool and baby wipes are being disposed of in a way that is contributing to problems for many households.

As these hygiene products are being disposed of down the toilet, this is adding to drainage issues such as clogged pipes as well as leading to the sewerage system being unable to cope. In some cases wastewater has overflowed into homes and gardens as well as flooding roads and entering rivers too.

Just before Christmas United Utilities reminded families living in the North West that they needed to think carefully before deciding to pour turkey fat into the drainage system.

This advice was offered so they didn’t face blocked pipes and huge repair costs when entering the new year. Hopefully, this time the usual million pints of fat was not disposed of in this way.

Regional wastewater network manager for the water company, Mike Wood, said at the time:

“Fat and grease cause more than half the sewer blockages we deal with every year. At Christmas, the volume of cooking fat entering the sewers goes up dramatically – which can spell big headaches for our engineers, and for households.

“When the fat cools, it hardens, clogging pipes and causing wastewater to spill out into streets, streams, rivers and even homes and gardens. And it’s not just our sewer pipes that suffer. Household pipes can get blocked too, resulting in hefty bills.

“We’re advising all our customers to pour their fat and oil into a container, and once cooled, scrape it out into the bin. It’s the surest way to avoid a messy and expensive Christmas.”

This is just one of the ways that people misuse their drains and so it is important to think very carefully about what you pour away down the sink and the toilet.

Following three successful events at the end of last year, Anglian Water is all set to continue with its Keep it Clear roadshow when it visits four more communities over the next few months.

Featuring such things as interactive displays, live presentations, demonstrations as well as giveaways, those living in the region will be able to go away from the event knowing more about looking after the drains in their gardens, kitchens and bathrooms than they did before.

The water company have used this fun idea to deliver a very serious message and have designed the programme to educate people in this part of the country about how to prevent drainage issues due to flushing the wrong products down the drains.

If you live near Southend-on-Sea, Northampton or Lincoln, you may want to get on down to the roadshow and learn all about dealing with kitchen food waste from the resident chef, understand how a plumber can fit products that reduce the amount of water used in a household and find out the best ways to make use of water within the home.

The first of these dates takes place on Saturday 21 at the Grosvenor Centre in Northampton.

Staff at Thames Water decided to make a serious point using Christmas Carols last month when they posted a YouTube video of themselves singing a reworded classic to highlight the issues of fat disposal in the sewerage system.

They were all dressed up in suitable festive attire for the occasion as they sang to the tune of ‘Deck the Halls’. The main point they were trying to make is that when people have finished their Christmas dinner, they should not use the drainage pipes to dispose of their unwanted fats used in the cooking.

A Victorian brick sewer in London was used to film the sketch where they hoped the message would get across to residents of the capital. In the city the problem of fat disposal poured down the sink makes their jobs much more difficult.

Rob Smith, the lead chorister of the singing sewermen and worker at Thames Water, said:

"The sewermens’ war cry is: ‘Bin it – don’t block it.’ We are hell-bent on stopping hideous 'fat bergs,' which block sewers and can cause it to back-up into people’s homes and gardens, which is utterly hideous. We’re committed to preventing sewer blockages but we need people’s help. Listen to our song: ‘You must bin it – please don’t block it.’ Got it?"

It has been reported that the three-week drainage maintenance project on Parley Lane in Bournemouth, Dorset has now begun to address the recent issues with flooding.

Dorset County Council are overseeing the work by Dorset Highways which will see the removal of the current surface water drainage system which has often caused unsafe conditions for drivers in the area.

The road in question is an unlit, national speed limit road near to Bournemouth International Airport, with the flood water disrupting traffic on a number of occasions.

Engineers from the council investigated the site and found that a replacement drain is required.

Borough councillor Margaret Phipps said:

“All of the parish council has been informed about the work.

“In their email, county said it may cause minor delays but we will have to see.

“Possibly when it starts we may hear some comments but I do not know.

“There are problems with that part of the road and it does get rather waterlogged at times.

“When the traffic lights were being installed near Bournemouth Airport traffic flowed very well so I don’t anticipate any major issues.”

Temporary traffic signals are in place during peak times along the 400-metre section of the road where the work is being carried out.