£5.5 million investment in Kirkham to reduce storm overflows and improve water quality in the River Ribble

A £5.5 million project to create a new underground stormwater storage tunnel and upgrade the sewer network is set to get underway in Kirkham.

When complete, the tunnel will hold more than two million litres of stormwater – the equivalent of around 26,000 bathtubs. It will give Kirkham’s wastewater network additional capacity during times of heavy rainfall and help to improve water quality in Wrongway Brook by reducing storm water discharges.

United Utilities is inviting members of the public to find out more at a drop-in session at the Community Centre in Mill Street from 10am to 6pm on Friday 8^th August

The project is part of a wider £94.5 million investment which will see 12 projects delivered across Fylde and Wyre during the next five years.

The first phase of the project will involve upgrading the sewer network with the introduction of larger pipes. As these are located in land between the railway line and the William Segar Hodgson playing fields, there won’t be any traffic disruption associated with the project.

When this is complete, a 300-metre-long storage tunnel will be constructed more than four metres below ground. This will run from land behind the railway station and link to the new pipework.

Work will get underway in early August and is expected to be completed by summer 2026.

Simon Holding, County Business lead for Wastewater Services in Lancashire explained: “The storage tunnel will act as a holding area for the extra water that enters the sewer network in times of heavy rainfall.

“Wastewater from Kirkham travels through the sewer network to the pumping station at Freckleton before going on to the Wastewater Treatment Works at Clifton Marsh, Preston. Creating this extra capacity means that it isn’t all hitting either the pumping station, or the wastewater treatment works all at the same time and the system is less likely to be overwhelmed.”

Wrongway Brook is a tributary of the River Ribble. Across Lancashire, United Utilities continues to deliver a wide range of projects from infrastructure improvements to rainwater management, which are enhancing water quality in the Ribble and its tributaries.