Yorkshire Water has begun work on two storm overflow improvement projects in Barnsley as part of a wider programme aimed at increasing sewer capacity and reducing discharges during heavy rainfall.
The £4.8 million investment will support upgrades at Genn Lane Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) and West Street Worsborough CSO. The schemes form part of a broader £95 million programme to improve 28 storm overflow sites across Barnsley.
The work is being delivered by Yorkshire Water and its contract partner M Group Services and forms part of the company’s wider environmental investment programme.
Storm overflow upgrades at Genn Lane and Worsborough
At Genn Lane, a £1.1 million scheme will construct a 68-metre section of pipe nest storage beneath Ward Green community park. The additional storage capacity will help manage flows during heavy rainfall events.
Once completed, the project is expected to reduce storm discharges into tributaries of the River Dove to fewer than ten events per year.
Work on the Genn Lane project began in March and will continue as part of the wider storm overflow improvement programme.
A second project at West Street Worsborough represents a £3.7 million investment and will involve constructing a new CSO chamber, relocating the existing overflow and rerouting sections of the sewer network.
The upgrades are expected to reduce storm discharges into the River Dove by approximately 87 percent when the project is complete.
Increasing sewer capacity to manage rainfall
Combined sewer systems carry both wastewater and surface water. During periods of heavy rainfall the network can reach capacity, and storm overflows operate as a relief mechanism to prevent wastewater backing up into homes and properties.
Water companies are increasingly investing in infrastructure upgrades to reduce the frequency with which these overflows need to operate.
Robyn Scott, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said the Barnsley programme forms part of a broader investment aimed at reducing storm discharges across the region.
She said the projects follow earlier investment which has already helped reduce storm overflow activity in Yorkshire.
Yorkshire Water previously invested £180 million over the past two years, which the company says helped reduce storm overflows discharging into watercourses by 12 percent in 2024 compared with the previous year.
Across Yorkshire, the company is developing a range of measures to reduce pressure on sewer networks. These include building surface water sewers to separate rainwater from wastewater, constructing underground storage tanks and installing sustainable drainage systems to slow the flow of surface water into combined sewers.
The Barnsley projects form part of Yorkshire Water’s wider £8.3 billion investment programme across its services and environmental infrastructure over the next five years.
