Flood relief gets under way in Wigan

10 February 2010

A major £400,000 flood defence project is on the cards for residents in Parbold, West Lancashire.

The United Utilities scheme is taking place in Fairhurst Drive to help prevent homes flooding with sewage during heavy rain. The work involves increasing the size of sewers so that they can store even more water during storm conditions and carry it away more quickly for treatment.

Due to the size and scale of the pipes and excavations involved, Fairhurst Drive has been closed to through traffic while the work takes place. Restricted access is being maintained for residents where possible.

United Utilities project co-ordinator, Jose DeFreitas, explained: "This is engineering on a large scale, but it is the only way we can increase the size of the local sewer system to help prevent it from overflowing during heavy rain.

"The work may be a temporary inconvenience but it will come as a huge relief to those local residents who have been affected by the awful problem of flooding from sewers. It's one of the many improvement schemes our customers' water bills help to fund."

Work is expected to start on week commencing the 15 Feb 2010 and will take around 11 weeks to complete. It forms part of United Utilities' £2.9 billion investment programme to improve water quality and the environment between 2005 and 2010.

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