Water storage pipes to alleviate flooding

A MAJOR project to protect a village from further flooding is among a raft of £5.9 million work being carried out by Severn Trent Water.

The project – to alleviate flooding after heavy rainfall in Groby – has seen the installation of two massive new pipes to boost capacity in the local sewer network.

The pipes – each of which has a diameter of a metre – will store surface water during heavy rainfall, reducing the risk of surface flooding and preventing the system from being overwhelmed.

This also helps to support the health of local waterways by cutting down on the need to use combined storm overflows (CSOs).

It is one of several undertakings Severn Trent is working on to deliver a range of improvements for residents across the county.

These include work to update the water network, improve the wastewater treatment process and enhance flood resilience.

In the past year, Severn Trent has launched a scheme to replace and improve 16 miles of clean water mains across the county and has also improved the waste network.

Helen Purdy, of Severn Trent, said: “We’re proud of the strategic investment we’re making in our clean and wastewater networks.

“We want to ensure our customers continue to have an uninterrupted supply of water and that the sewage network continues to be ready to meet the challenges from a growing population and climate change. These projects will help deliver benefits to customers and the environment.

“Over the autumn and winter, we’ve seen a much higher number of named storm events than normal which resulted in some flooding issues for people across the county, particularly when the volume of water is greater than the capacity of our network.

“With nowhere for this increased rainwater to go, this can lead to surface flooding.

“Through projects like the expansion in Groby, we can store some of this excess water, mitigating the need to use CSOs or leaking back out from the network.”

This is being followed with investments of £242 million and £33 million respectively at Wanlip Sewage Treatment Works and Melton Sewage Treatment Works to increase the amount of flow they can treat and to improve river health.