Yorkshire Water is starting work in Farsley this week on a £900,000 project to reduce storm overflows into the River Aire.

The works form part of a £68 million investment across Leeds to cut discharges of wastewater into rivers during periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall. Across the region, £1.5 billion is being invested by Yorkshire Water to reduce overflows into rivers and the sea.

Overflows from the sewage network on South Drive travel underground and are discharged into the river Aire near Rodley.

Contractors M Group will be completing the work, which will see the installation of an underground storage tank capable of holding 8,000 litres of water. The tank will hold stormwater during rainfall events, preventing it from entering the watercourse, before pumping it back into the sewer network for full treatment once there is capacity to do so.

Once completed, the work will reduced discharges from South Drive No2 CSO into the river Aire by 57%.

Lydia Mitchell, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said:

“Many people may be unaware that this storm overflow exists in a residential area some distance from the river. The work to install additional storage at the site is vital as we continue our investment to reduce discharges into the watercourses in Leeds and the rest of the region.

The scheme is one of a number storm overflow reduction projects underway in the Leeds area, all of which are designed to help improve water quality in the area.

Schemes in Beeston and Stourton, which were some of the first storm overflow projects to begin as part of the £1.5 billion investment, are already complete, and delivering benefits for Farnley Wood Beck and the River Aire, respectively.