More than £450,000 is being invested to boost the protection of one of the south west’s most precious landscapes this winter.
Sewers will be revitalised and sealed within Exmoor National Park, which straddles Somerset and Devon, as the mission to prevent pollution affecting one of the foremost beauty spots in the region steps up a further gear.
Wessex Water will complete renovations of pipes across five weeks in and around the village of Roadwater, south east of Minehead during November and December, to help protect the environment.
Project manager Ed Coate said: “The sewers will be relined to prevent both untreated water escaping from them and rainwater infiltrating the system, which can cause flooding to properties and businesses and also cause storm overflows to automatically discharge into rivers or the sea if the system becomes overwhelmed by excess water.
“Upgrading these pipes will help ensure their condition for years to come and also help to protect the local area, particularly an important natural area like Exmoor.
“We’re also carrying out this work using ‘no-dig’ techniques, which are both quicker and less disruptive than doing it in a conventional way, inserting a new liner inside the pipe and curing it into place using innovative technology.’’
Work gets under way on private land for a week from Monday 11 November before moving on to Roadwater Road, which will be closed to through traffic in the village between The Valiant Soldier Inn and the junction with Watersmeet Close between Monday 18 and Friday 22 November.
The following week 25-29 November, Harpers Lane will be closed between the junction with Old Mineral Line and Harpers Cottages before Roadwater Road is closed between Clitsome View and Sunnybank Cottage between 2-13 December.
The work concludes with Mount Lane closed at the southern end, where it meets Roadwater Road, for up to five days from Monday 2 December.
Diversions will be in place for all the closures, with access maintained for residents and businesses, who have also been written to ahead of the project.
Wessex Water also has proposals to invest nearly £450 million – more than double the £3 million a month current spend – towards the goal of reducing overflow operation in its next five-year investment period between 2025 and 2030.
The plans, which also include innovative use of sewer monitors to predict problems in the network are currently being considered for approval by industry regulators.
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