[W]est Cumbria’s new £300 million water supply scheme has been making good progress.
United Utilities began construction work on this major project in summer and already 17km of new water pipes have been laid or re-lined in the West Cumbria area near Cockermouth and Great Broughton. Pipe-laying is continuing in the fields between Williamsgate and the River Derwent.
Closer to Keswick, engineers will be stopping pipe-laying activities in the fields near Bassenthwaite at the end of October. The site will be made safe and left undisturbed over the winter period to protect the environment.
On 30 October the pipeline laying work will move onto the A591 at Dodd Wood where the road will be closed for six weeks. The diversion route will take traffic along the A66.
United Utilities Project Director John Hilton said: “After 2022 we cannot continue to supply the West Cumbria area from the existing source at Ennerdale for environmental reasons. That supply is already under pressure during prolonged dry periods. So the aim of the new pipeline is to bring a sustainable supply of Thirlmere water into West Cumbria for the foreseeable future.
“Our aim is to carry out most of the work in fields between spring and autumn, and then move to those sections of work in the highway during the wetter months over winter. We know there is never an ideal time to work on the roads in Cumbria but we’ve liaised closely with the highways department and we are doing our best to avoid the busier holiday periods.”
Contractors will be working 24 hours a day in order to complete the work along the A591 before the middle of December.
During the road closure United Utilities has arranged a shuttle bus service to operate between The Old Sawmill tearoom at Dodd Wood and the Castle Inn to help residents who use the No.554 bus service.
John explained: “We done a lot of research ahead of the road closure to try and reduce the impact for local people and we’ve also written to residents. We hope the shuttle bus will help to make life a little easier for those who rely on public transport.”
There are a number of challenging obstacles along the pipeline route. Engineers have proposed a tunnel under Castlerigg to avoid laying the pipe in parts of the Greta valley which was destabilised following Storm Desmond in 2015. A planning addendum for this part of the route is presently under consideration.
Another tunnel will carry the pipeline under the River Greta near the fire station in Keswick. Preparations are under way to begin the shafts on each side of the river this autumn, with the tunnelling work scheduled to begin in the New Year.
John added: “We’re committed to completing the project as quickly as possible to minimise disruption to the public. We will continue to write to local residents to keep them up to date as the work proceeds and we also have our drop-in visitor centre at 32 Lake Road, Keswick, CA12 5DQ.”
The West Cumbria Water Supplies project involves laying a new water pipeline from Thirlmere reservoir, around Keswick and on to the site of a new treatment plant at Williamsgate. From here the supply will split into two directions – a new pipeline will carry the water to a new underground service reservoir at Moota Hill in the north and then on to Quarry Hill near Mealsgate. A second new pipe will head south to a new service reservoir at High Leys and then on to Summergrove.
Details of shuttle bus service
A further 20km of existing water pipework will be relined to carry the water to Stainburn and Cornhow.
For further information about the West Cumbria Supplies Project please visit www.unitedutilities.com/Cumbria