Sprucing up city centre sewers in Bristol

Nearly 300 metres of sewers in Bristol will be given a new lease of life later this month, with robots replacing noisy drilling to keep disruption to the city centre community to a minimum.

The £65,000 scheme will see sections of pipe around the Old City area revitalised to ensure the integrity of their structure, with Wessex Water continuing to use its innovative approach to renovate the system.

Instead of digging up long stretches of roads, taking many months to complete and generating significant amounts of carbon, the existing sewers are being relined using specialist equipment deep underground that requires just a few excavations in certain locations.

Reusing the existing pipework, teams will insert a new liner inside which reduces the risk of leaks and potential sewer collapses, helping to prevent the escape of waste water and infiltration of ground water. Robots work their way along the pipework to complete the work and make connections.

Wessex Water programme manager Helen Tivenan said: “Relining and sealing sewers in this way helps protect the environment. By ensuring we protect the structure of the pipes, it can also prevent foul water escaping from them and groundwater entering the system, which can lead to flooding or storm overflows automatically discharging into rivers or the sea if the system becomes overwhelmed.

“We’re working hard to keep any disruption to a minimum wherever possible and have written to residents and businesses to advise them where and when this work will be taking place, much of it in the evenings.’’

Several phases of work will take place in the centre of the city between Tuesday 30 May and Friday 23 June, with the full details as follows:

• Tuesday 30 May - Thursday 8 June - Closure along St Stephen's Street.
• Monday 5 - Thursday 8 June - Temporary traffic signals in place along Baldwin Street between 7pm and 6am.
• Monday 5 - Friday 9 June - Incursions into the road along Welsh Back between 7pm and 6am.
• Friday 9 - Friday 16 June - Incursions into the road along Mitchell Lane.
• Tuesday 20 - Wednesday 21 June - Lane closure along Bristol Bridge between 6pm and 6am.
• Tuesday 20 - Friday 23 June - Temporary traffic signals in place along Quay Street and some incursion into the road along Small Street between 6pm and 7am.