18 March 2010
The hamlet of Slaidburn, in the Ribble Valley, is set to be connected to a brand new public water supply for the first time ever, United Utilities has revealed.
A mixture of 115 residential and business properties will get connected to the mains tap water as part of a GBP 2 million investment scheme by the North West water firm.
The village of Slaidburn currently receives its water supplies from a private network of pipes that are coming to the end of their useful life.
The Warrington based utility firm agreed with the Slaidburn Estate and Ribble Valley Borough Council to construct a brand new water network for the entire village. The new network will supply residents with high quality drinking water and will ensure that there is a reliable supply long into the future.
Water had come from a number of springs and a local brook, the increasing risk of a micro-organism called cryptosporidium entering the supply system could have caused illness. The existing network has been owned and managed by the Slaidburn Estate but is beyond repair.
The works involve replacing the ageing cast iron with nearly 7 kilometres of new modern plastic mains and approximately 3 kilometres of service pipes. Two Aqueduct connections and a brand new booster pumping station will be built, supplying high quality water to the villagers from the Hodder treatment works.
The new water supply will be far less likely to be discoloured and United Utilities say they should be able to reduce the chlorine that is required to be added to the water.
Daniel Smith Project Manager for United Utilities said, "This is an unusual project for us to undertake, having to create a whole network for an entire village is very special. It's definitely a good news story for the residents and I hope they are very pleased to receive a clean reliable supply that they can enjoy and rely on for many years."
The utility firm is holding a drop-in meeting at the village hall between 2pm and 7-30pm in Slaidburn on Monday 22nd March. -ends-
For further media information, contact:
Shaun Robinson, at United Utilities' press office on (01925) 237088
(please note our new 24-hr number) *All calls are recorded and may be monitored, or visit our website www.unitedutilities.com