United Utilities has announced plans for a £5M scheme at Maryport aimed at improving bathing beaches and delicate coastal environments.

 The new scheme, to improve sewer overflows at Maryport in line with tough new European standards, is the latest to be announced as part of the firm’s five year £3.6bn investment programme to boost water quality and the environment. The plan is to build a large new underground storage tank on land near the existing pumping station in Hutton Place, together with pumping equipment and pipelines.

The tank will hold back up to 5,900 cubic metres of storm water every time it rains, which could otherwise have made its way into the sea. The storm water will instead be retained in the sewer system and pumped away for treatment when rains subside.

Project manager Geraud Ramond said the plan was to reduce the number of times sewers overflowed into the Solway Firth at Maryport to the absolute minimum.

"Overflows are an essential part of any sewer system but by increasing the capacity of our network we can make sure this one is used much less often. It will be excellent news for beach lovers and also the shellfish which live in these lovely coastal waters. The work will help us meet tough new European standards on bathing waters and shellfish habitats."

Work on the project - most of which will take place in open land, is expected to start in September and will take about a year to complete. Project co-ordinator Caroline Brumwell said she would be working with local stakeholders before and during the project to ensure the work caused as little inconvenience as possible.

"Our new tank will be near a county wildlife site. Although we have been very careful to make sure it doesn't encroach on this a very sensitive place we will still be working very closely with experts to protect it while we work," she said.

The plans for Maryport, which will be subject to planning approval, are the latest in a series of important projects to improve the coast around Cumbria. Last year United Utilities finished a new £10m treatment works at Glasson, near Carlisle, to improve water quality in the Solway Firth. In previous investment programmes the firm built new treatment works at Barrow, Whitehaven and Workington.

£640K sewer scheme starts next week

Next week United Utilities will also start work on a £640,000 sewer system improvement programme in Blackburn. The three-month scheme will upsize existing sewers in the town to increase sewer capacity in the area reducing the number of times the sewer system overflows during heavy rain. It will allow the local sewer network to hold more storm water instead of overflowing.

Contractor Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions will carry out the work to lay a new 1.2-meter sewer pipe on behalf of United Utilities. Engineers will upsize the old sewer system in four sections each taking approximately 3-6 weeks to complete.

United Utilities has assigned Matthew Steer as project coordinator for the scheme.