News
Your chance to find out more about Newark’s £60 million sewer plans
5th September 2016
Severn Trent’s plans are well underway for a multi-million pound investment in a major new scheme that will protect homes in Newark from sewer flooding and provide a reliable water supply for decades to come. However, before work begins, the company wants to invite residents in the town to a drop-in session to hear more about the work.
Nick Wallace from Severn Trent explains: “Earlier this year we announced that we would be spending £60 million to replace more than 12 miles of old pipes with new, larger ones, over the next four years in Newark.
“To explain the work in more detail we’re inviting residents in the town to a drop in session to hear more about the scheme and get their input. This is the largest investment we’ve made in a project to replace sewers in one area for many years and it’s important that we get it right for our customers. So we’d encourage local residents to come along to hear about the work. The drop in session will take place at Newark Town Hall on Tuesday 13 September and Wednesday 14 September 2016. The team will be available in the Ballroom from 11.00 to 19.30 on both days to explain our proposals in more detail, and answer any questions or concerns people may have about the project.
Nick added: “A key part of this work is to reduce the risk of sewer flooding, and we know that there are around 400 properties in Newark that are currently at risk. Sewer flooding is one of the worst things that can happen to our customers and that’s why we’re making this investment to help prevent it. The sewer pipes in the town are just not big enough and, with the changing weather patterns, we’re seeing more rain than we’re used to and the original pipes are now too small to cope with it.”
The company, who also confirmed that it would be taking the opportunity to replace and upgrade water pipes at the same time, will be using specialist tunnelling machinery to replace some of the sewers. The tunnels, where one will be large enough to drive a transit van through, will reduce the number of roads that would otherwise have had to have been dug up to install the sewers.
Nick explains: “By tunnelling underground we will reduce the impact our work has on local residents, businesses and traffic. We understand that a project of this size is likely to cause quite a bit of disruption for the people of Newark, but we want to assure everyone that we will be doing all we can to reduce the impact our work has on the local community.”
Councillor Jim Creamer, Committee Chairman for Environment and Sustainability, at Nottinghamshire County Council adds: "Nottinghamshire County Council welcomes the significant investment from Severn Trent to renew the water supply and sewers and to reduce flooding issues in Newark. The county council will continue to work in partnership with Severn Trent to assist with the successful delivery of the scheme."