Yorkshire Water has begun one of three storm overflow projects which will take place in Horsforth over the next three years.
The initial scheme will see an underground storage tank being built on Fraser Avenue, with further schemes planned to start on Newlaithes Road and Newlay Grove in spring and summer 2026.
Together, the £3m investment will create 300 cubic metres of stormwater storage – which will hold three million litres of storm water – to help reduce discharges into the river Aire.
The storage tank on Fraser Avenue will build additional capacity into the network, holding excess wastewater during periods of bad weather to prevent it from being discharged. Flows will be sent for treatment when capacity in the network has returned to normal levels.
Lydia Mitchell, 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.
“The Fraser Avenue scheme is just one of 37 planned storm overflow projects in Leeds over the next five years, and one of the first of nearly 500 storm spill reduction schemes across Yorkshire over the next five years.”
The work is part of Yorkshire Water’s £1.5bn investment to reduce the number of discharges across the region
Work at Fraser Avenue is already under way. To allow the work to take place, and for the safety of colleagues, residents, and road users, there will be a lane closure in place from Fraser Avenue towards Horsforth Roundabout from 3 November for four weeks.
Lydia added: “Our contract partners M Group will be working as quickly as they can and working hard to keep disruption to a minimum. The lane closure is vital for the completion of this important and necessary project. We thank everyone for their patience and understanding.”
The projects will contribute to reducing the number of discharges from overflows in Leeds by 72%, by 2030.
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.
Sponsored content
We need more of these, some sections or borehole to store water or water towers along the Aire which could be incorporated into Yorkshire Water’s network of resevours and canals would also be a profitable investment if they want to prevent the hassle of future potential droughts and disruption to business’ use of water.
By the way, where is our New Water Resevour in Yorkshire? Even a new modern one which is small somewhere in the Dales or Moors would be much less evaporation than these ancient resveours we have, and collects the rain to then be used by us at home or at work or leisure etc.
We need to start build things *NOW* to prevent droughts later this decade; and that means more than privatized utility water companies fixing the numerous leaky pipes in the system- it means building even medium scale water retention and purification to keep eveyone with the waters of life.
People need to give a flying proverbial about how badly prepared we are for drought, when we could instead Lead the way across the UK in Water resources, water in Yorkshire is a profitable industry and currently Yorkshire Water are not recognizing what a wealthy investment we have here that literally falls from the sky.
Who thinks we should nationalise Yorkshire Water? Go on we councillors are supposed to listen to you, write a reply? I won’t bite lol