We’ve upgraded the sewer network in Kirkham to provide additional capacity during times of heavy rainfall and help to improve water quality in Wrongway Brook, a tributory of the River Ribble, by reducing stormwater overflow discharges.

What did the work involve? 

Work started in summer 2025 on the £5.5 million project to construct  a new underground storm water storage tunnel and upgrade the sewer network . The upgrade was completed ahead of schedule and will play an important role in improving river water quality.    

The 300 metre underground tunnel was constructed in land between the railway line and William Segar Hodgson playing fields, with a little help from 'Betty', a specialist tunnel boring machine named by a pupil from the local primary school.  Just six weeks after being launched, Betty re-emerged, helping to construct a tunnel which will hold more than two million litres of stormwater – the equivalent of around 26,000 bathtubs, providing vital extra capacity.

As part of the project, and as a thank you to the local community, we've planted fruit trees along Remembrance Way - a green open space for walkers and cyclists, and within the 'Grow to Give' allotment which provides produce for the local food bank.