Welsh Water Delivers Boost to Hereford Environment

[Hereford Voice]

The local environment in a part of Hereford has received a boost thanks to the completion of an investment scheme by not for profit water company Welsh Water.

Welsh Water has invested almost £307,000 in a project which will improve the sewerage network in the Three Elms area. 

Until now, some properties in the area had not been able to connect to the main sewerage network and instead had to rely on septic tanks which regularly failed. This in turn posed a pollution risk to the surrounding environment. The failures of the tanks also breached the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (DEFRA) general binding rules which govern how septic tanks should operate. 

To address the situation, the company designed and installed a new sewer system to replace a septic tank system. The new sewer system will enable the properties to connect to the main sewerage network which in turn will benefit the local environment. 

Chris Jones, Head of Wastewater Programme Delivery at Welsh Water said: “We’re very proud to have been able to complete this project on schedule to protect the environment during the challenging circumstances surrounding the pandemic. The construction team managed to adhere to all of the government social distance guidelines and received some excellent written feedback from residents in the area. We appreciate that our work can be inconvenient, so we really did appreciate the cooperation shown to us by the local residents while we worked in their community.”

The company has also partnered with Herefordshire Community Foundation as part of its increased support to local communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s increased its Community Fund threefold to £300,000 and has given over £100,000 to Trussell Trust foodbanks since the pandemic started.