£4.8m investment in storm overflow projects at Genn Lane and Worsborough

Yorkshire Water’s £95m investment to increase capacity and reduce storm discharges at 28 sites across Barnsley continues with projects at Genn Lane Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) and West Street Worsborough CSO starting in March.

• £1.1m at Genn Lane to build a 68-metre section of pipe nest storage
• £3.7m at West Street Worsborough to build new a CSO chamber and reroute the existing sewer

Contract partners, MGroup start on site at Genn Lane CSO on Monday 16 March to create storage capacity beneath Ward Green community park.  On completion, the project should reduce the number of storm discharges into the tributaries of the river Dove to fewer than ten per annum following heavy rainfall events.

The West Street Worsborough CSO improvement works to reroute the existing sewer, move the existing CSO and build a new CSO chamber and screen is expected to deliver an 87% drop in storm discharges into the river Dove on completion. MGroup is due to start on site on Monday 23 March until summer 2027.

Robyn Scott, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “Both projects are part of Yorkshire Water’s £1.5bn investment by to significantly reduce storm discharges in watercourses. The two projects are part of a £95m plan to upgrade 28 storm overflows to reduce storm discharges across Barnsley including Darton, Darfield and Stairfoot.

“The programme immediately follows a £180m investment over the past two years, which has helped to reduce storm overflows discharging into watercourses by 12% in 2024, compared to 2023.”

Storm overflows are designed to act as a relief for the combined sewer network, which carries both wastewater and surface water, during periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall. They discharge when the system is at capacity to prevent flows backing up and wastewater entering homes and gardens. 

Across Yorkshire, the need for storm overflows to operate will be reduced by building new: 

Surface water sewers, to separate surface water and wastewater so that wastewater networks aren’t impacted by bad weather

Underground storage tanks, to build additional capacity into the network

Nature-based solutions, to build additional capacity into the network

Sustainable drainage systems, to slow the flow of surface water into the combined network 

The storm overflow project is part of Yorkshire Water’s £8.3bn investment into its services and the environment over the next five years.