Second Horsforth storm overflow project underway

Yorkshire Water has started the second of three storm overflow projects in Horsforth, as part of its £1.5bn investment in reducing the number of discharges across the region.  

The latest project will see two 26m3 underground storage tanks being built on Newlay Grove by contract partners Ward & Burke.  

The initial scheme in Horsforth took place on Fraser Avenue, and the third scheme will be on Newlaithes Road in summer 2026. Together, the £7m investment will create 300m3 of stormwater storage – enough to hold 300,000 litres of storm water, preventing discharges into the river Aire. 

The tanks are expected to take up to six months to install. 

Storage tanks build additional capacity into the network, holding excess wastewater during periods of bad weather to prevent it from being discharged. Flows are sent for full treatment when capacity in the network has returned to normal levels. 

The scheme on Newlay Grove also marks the tenth storm overflow project to get underway in Leeds as part of the wider £1.5bn programme. Other projects are underway in:  

• Stourton 
• Beeston 
• Kirkstall Cricket Club 
• Wyther Lane, Kirkstall 
• Burley Village Green 
• Spen lane, Headingley 
• Fraser Avenue, Horsforth 
• Sussex Avenue near Hunslet 
• Jack Lane, also near Hunslet 

Daniel Rhodes, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “Our storm overflows are operating more often than we, and our customers, would like, and projects like these are helping us to bring those figures down. Newlay Grove marks the tenth overflow project in Leeds in this investment period, but we have many, many more planned across Leeds and the wider region by 2030 – over 450 individual schemes.” 

Once complete, the projects will contribute to reducing the number of discharges from overflows in Leeds by 72%, by 2030. 

Elsewhere in Yorkshire, there are schemes underway in Sheffield, Barnsley, and Bradford.  

The overall £1.5bn investment programme follows a £180m investment over the previous two years, which helped reduce discharges to watercourses by 12% in 2024, compared to 2023, and by a further 24.5% in 2025. 

Storm overflows are designed to act as a relief valve 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 flooding 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.