£10m sewer overhaul planned

A £10.8m scheme to improve the sewer system in Newark and prevent flooding to about 80 homes has been announced.

The scheme, in the early stages of planning, is one of three major projects set to be undertaken by Severn Trent Water to improve overloaded and outdated sewerage systems.

About 7km of sewers in Newark would be upgraded.

An outline of the proposals was presented to Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Strategic Flood Risk Management Board at County Hall on Monday.

Contractor NMC Nomenca is working with Severn Trent on the project.

NMC Nomenca’s customer liaison manager Mr Geoff Hancock said there were significant flooding problems caused by the sewer system in four areas of Newark — Kelham Road, Mill Lane, Bowbridge Road and Falstone Avenue.

“Flooding affects gardens and you get sewage in the properties, which we can all agree is a situation we can’t tolerate in modern society,” he said.

Mr Hancock said Newark had a combined system that dealt with sewage and rainwater and it was struggling to cope as the town had grown.

He said the new scheme would also get rid of ten overflows that released sewage into the River Trent between Millgate and Northgate when the system became overwhelmed.

Mr Hancock said: “There will be several benefits that the increased capacity will bring such as a massive reduction in the number of blockages.

“We recognise the need to improve the trunk sewer that goes through the town.

“There is a considerable area where we would need to carry out work and it is a considerable scheme we are looking at.”

Mr Hancock said they would make sure the work caused as little disruption as possible.

Work is likely to start late next year and finish in 2015.

Mr Bruce Laughton, the chairman of the flood risk management board, said other schemes had been proposed in the past and had not gone ahead.

Mr Laughton said: “This is the third scheme that’s been mooted in Newark over the last 25 years and the rest have all fallen by the wayside.

“How definite is it that this scheme will take place because we don’t want to be sending the message out to the people of Newark that they are going to get a new scheme and then the plug gets pulled on it?”

Mr Steve Milner, solution manager at Severn Trent, said so long as the scheme was not a great deal more expensive than anticipated it would go ahead.