Scottish Water has started a major environmental improvement project which will tackle sewer flooding in part of the Springburn area of Glasgow.
The £12.4m investment in improvements to the waste water network will help reduce the risk of flooding in the Elmvale Row area. A total of 34 properties have experienced recurring problems with flooding for a number of years, including flooding to garages, car parks and roadways.
The project is part of a £250 million, five-year programme of work announced in February 2013 which will continue to improve river water quality and the natural environment of the River Clyde, enable the Greater Glasgow area to grow and develop, alleviate sewer flooding and deal with the effects of increased rainfall from climate change.
To minimise the risk of flooding in the Elmvale Row area, Scottish Water’s waste water infrastructure alliance aBV Alliance, a partnership of Amey and Black and Veatch, will install 13,500 cubic metres of storm water storage into the sewer network to alleviate the surcharging of the sewer system.
Gary Caig, Scottish Water’s environmental asset planning team leader, said:
“Scottish Water is committed to doing all we can to help communities and customers by playing our part in tackling flooding and dealing with the impact of heavy rainfall.
“A number of properties in the Elmvale Row area have suffered from recurring flooding over a number of years and we fully appreciate the inconvenience this can cause. We know that affected customers will welcome our improvements to our network in the area.”
The new storm storage which will be installed includes two large circular tanks, which will each be about 25 metres in diameter and 18 metres deep. The tanks, which will be installed in open ground adjacent to Elmvale Row, will provide storage in the combined sewer network to avoid surcharging in storm conditions.
Pumps will be installed in the tanks to form a storm return system which will return the storm water stored in the tanks back into the sewer system once the storm conditions have abated. A control kiosk will be installed beside the tanks. The project will also include the upsizing of about 400 metres of waste water pipes.
The works are expected to be completed in about two years. A significant amount of rock will have to be extracted during the project. The rock, which is about 13 metres below the ground, will be removed from the site.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
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