United Utilities needs to build new overflows and spillways at Ogden and Holdenwood Reservoirs as part of a safety improvement project. The work will ensure the 170-year-old reservoirs can continue to keep supplies on tap for future generations in the Rossendale and Bury areas.
United Utilities project co-ordinator Kevin Davies said:
"The safety improvement work we're planning in the Grane Valley is vital to make sure the reservoirs stay in good working order in the decades to come.
"These old structures have served the local communities well for many years but they need an upgrade to keep pace with modern safety standards. The new spillways will help make sure the reservoirs can overflow safely during heavy rainfall."
The water level in Holdenwood Reservoir is currently drawn down and this level will be maintained to allow the work to take place. Ogden Reservoir will be maintained at around its current level, and will continue to supply drinking water to customers throughout the work.
Preparatory work will start this autumn with work to the exisiting southern by-wash channel at Ogden reservoir. The main construction project will begin in Spring 2012 and is expected to last until Winter 2013.
The Grane Valley holds a chain of three reservoirs - Calf Hey, Ogden and Holdenwood, built between 1841 and 1912. Calf Hey and Ogden feed water to the nearby Haslingden Grane water treatment plant which can supply 14 million litres a day to homes and businesses in Haslingden and parts of Bury. Holdenwood reservoir, which was originally built to serve Holdenwood Mill, is now used to feed water into Ogden Brook to make sure it continues to flow all year round.
United Utilities owns and operates 193 reservoirs in the North West of England, and they are all inspected on a regular basis - some every day. Once every ten years, a statutory inspection is carried out by an independent expert - this identified the need for the work at Ogden and Holdenwood reservoirs.
The project is part of United Utilities' £3.6 billion investment between 2010 and 2015 to upgrade the North West's water and sewage infrastructure and improve the environment.
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