We're investing £21 million in a programme of work to clean a number of our major water assets throughout the whole of the Wirral. Some sections of water mains date back many decades and over time, deposits of iron and manganese can coat the insides. Although not harmful to health, these deposits can look unsightly if they are dislodged and appear in our drinking water.
There are six distinct project areas as part of the Wirral cleaning scheme which will be completed in stages. The whole Wirral trunk mains cleaning scheme is expected to be completed by 2015 and will see around 40 kilometres of pipe cleaned or refurbished improving the water supply for 190,000 Wirral households.
We will be using a variety of techniques to clean and refurbish the mains. The type of method we use will depend on the condition of the existing apparatus and may involve high pressure water jetting or where the existing pipes are in poorer condition, new plastic pipe will be inserted within the original cast iron shells to provide a secure new lining, known as 'sliplining'. There are a few areas of the schemes where it will be necessary to dig to open larger sections of the carriageway, this will allow us to lay new water mains where the other cleaning and maintenance methods are deemed unsuitable or to maintain water supplies while we work on other stretches of water main.
We aim to deliver the project with minimal disruption to businesses and the local community and apologise for any disruption or inconvenience we may cause whilst completing this scheme. We may need to interupt your water supply or divert traffic for short periods, however if we need to do this in your area we will let you know in advance.
Birkenhead
Project Overview: The project will take place in stages as illustrated on the overview map.
The work to refurbish our water mains will utilise high pressure water jetting equipment to clean the pipes. Although these methods are not as disruptive, they will involve digging at specific points to allow access to the main for the jetting equipment. In some areas we will insert new sections of pipe within the existing water main to create a secure new lining.
How this may affect you
Work on stages 1b and 4 started in January. We will be working along Poulton Bridge Road towards Mill Lane (stage1b). To complete this work safely we will need to put in place some traffic management which will involve temporary lane closures. We expect this stage of work to take approximately 3 months to complete. Work also started on stage 4 to clean an existing water pipeline along Wallasey Road outside the Cherry Tree shopping centre, down St Albans Road and along Mill Lane toward the junction with Eric Road. We expect this stage of work to take 2 months to complete. From 20th February work will start on stage 3. We will progress in sections along Gorsehill Road, Mount Road, Mount Pleasant and Seaview Road. This will require some traffic management and parking restrictions to be put in place and we expect this stage of work to take 3 months to complete.
Ellesmere Port
Project Overview: Work has already started to complete a refurbishment programe to some of our largest water mains within Ellesmere Port. The project will utilise a variety of methods to clean and refurbish the water mains.
How this may affect you
Work is now almost complete on this scheme. The work still to complete is located within agricultural land. No further work will be carried out in the highway.
Crosshill to Wallasey
Project Overview: Some of our largest pipelines carrying water from Crosshill Reservoir in Barnston to Wallasey, Liscard, New Brighton and Birkenhead will be refurbished using a variety of techniques.
How this may affect you
Phase 1 and 2 of this scheme are now complete. Work has recently started on Phase 3 of the project. The first stage of work to install new valves and a section of water main around the Moreton Cross roundabout junction is now complete.
Grange
Project Overview: The Grange project is designed to allow the cleaning of one of our reservoirs on the Wirral. To maintain water supplies while the reservoir cleaning work takes place we will lay new water mains in Moreton, Meols, Hoylake, Caldy and Thurstaston whilst refurbishing water mains in the Heswall area. Work will take place in stages and is due to start early May with the whole project expected to take around 12 months to complete.
How this may affect you
The work in Hoylake Road is now largely complete, we still have a small amount of work to carry out along Carr Lane. For details of where we have carried out work please see the overview map.
Work is continuing to lay a new water pipeline along Birkenhead Road from Chapel Road to outside the Railway Inn public house, see the overview map. We have almost completed the work to lay the main, this will be followed by some additional work to connect this new section of pipe into the existing main, pressure test and disinfect the new pipeline before it can be used to supply water. Once the work is completed all affected working areas will be restored to their original condition which we expect to complete by the end of February. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this work is causing and thank the local community for your continued co-operation.
For further information on any of these schemes please call 0845 213 0208.