Sewer renovations
We have enough sewers to stretch from the UK to Australia, many dating back more than 100 years to the Victorian era.
Running under roads, countryside, cities and villages through the region the 16,700km network has to be maintained to ensure 490 million litres of sewage per day reaches our treatment sites safely.
Our oldest sewers have deteriorated over time and are reaching the end of their useful life.
To strengthen the sewerage network these old pipes are being renovated.
What do sewer renovations involve?
In the last five years around 100km of sewers have been given a new lease of life.
We are completing an increasing amount of this work using ‘no dig’ technology which involves repairing sewers without having to make excavations.
This technique is now used regularly in our region. Repairs have been made with softliners – one of the first forms of this technology – for the past 20 years.
Another key no dig technique is ‘patch repair’ which we use to cover a small area of damaged pipe.
Renovation work prevents pipes leaking and ground water trickling into them. On rare occasions it can also stop a sewer from collapsing.
How will renovation work affect you?
No dig technology enables us to make important repairs to sewers under critical areas such as roads and sites of environmental interest without major disruption to traffic or wildlife.
It cuts the time it takes to complete a project from several months to a matter of days or even hours.
Work can be completed faster and more effectively reducing the impact of our repairs on residents, motorists and the environment.
Our renovation programme will ensure ageing sewers continue to perform for the next 100 years.