Yorkshire Water invests £5.8m to protect river Don at Thorpe Hesley

Yorkshire Water is investing £5.8m in two projects in Thorpe Hesley, Rotherham, to reduce storm overflow discharges into local watercourses and protect the river Don. 

The investment includes: 

£1.8m investment to create additional 182m³ storage capacity at Eldertree Road combined sewer overflow (CSO) 

£4m to install 456m³ underground pipe storage system at Wentworth Road CSO 

Our contract partners, Ward & Burke, start on site this week to create additional storm water storage capacity at Eldertree Road.  On completion, the scheme should reduce discharges into Blackburn Brook, which flows towards the River Don, from an average of 32 a year to fewer than 10. 

M Group will deliver the pipe storage scheme at Wentworth Road, which is designed to reduce discharges into Greasbrough Dike by around 60%, taking them from an annual average of 26 to fewer than 10. 

Vikki Overend, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said:  “We’re investing £5.8m in these two projects to significantly reduce storm overflow discharges in Thorpe Hesley. 

“The additional storage at Eldertree Road and Wentworth Road will give us more capacity in the wastewater network during periods of heavy rainfall. This means more wastewater and stormwater can be held back and returned to the network for treatment when there is capacity available. 

“Reducing storm discharges is an important part of improving our environmental performance and protecting local watercourses.  Work at Eldertree Road is expected to take around 12 months, with the Wentworth Road scheme expected to take around 10 months.” 

The two schemes are part of £73.5m of investment in 27 storm overflow projects across the Rotherham area, aimed at reducing storm discharges into local watercourses and improving water quality. 

They form part of Yorkshire Water’s wider plans to invest £8.3bn between 2025 and 2030, the company’s largest ever environmental investment to improve performance, service to its customers and reduce its impact on the environment. This includes £1.5bn investment to create additional storm overflow capacity at over 400 combined sewer overflow (CSO) sites across the Yorkshire region.