Severn Trent is getting ready to start work on a £7.6 million construction project to carry out essential upgrades at its Draycote Water reservoir.

The water and waste company is making the multi-million pound investment in the Draycote reservoir drawdown enhancements in order to allow teams to lower the reservoir level quickly and safely, to meet new Government regulations.

Under Section 10 of the Reservoirs Act 1975, reservoirs must be inspected every 10 years to identify safety concerns. In 2017 new guidance was published to recommended reservoir drawdown capacity, to protect against dam failure.

A reservoir drawdown is the ability to lower a reservoir's water level quickly - this is vital to maintaining the safety of reservoirs and of the people living and operating nearby.

The latest Section 10 inspection noted that the existing drawdown facilities at Draycote do not meet the current guidance and work is required to remedy this.

Plans include the installation of three siphons, made up of pipes running through the Hensborough Embankment. A new pond will also be created to capture any water released during annual testing, so it can be pumped back to the reservoir.

The construction phase will involve the following key activities:

Lowering the level of the water – to allow Severn Trent to do the work on the dam. The water company currently expects the lowering of the water level will be in region of 3m for approximately 3 months but may be slightly longer.

Divers will install the new pipes in the dam.

Construction of the new pipework, chambers, pond and connecting pipework from the reservoir embankment

Construction work is due to start in the summer - the works are a legal requirement and must be completed by October 2023.