NI Water pumps £300,000 into sewer improvements in Prehen

18 May 2022 16:06

NI Water is about to commence a £300,000 programme of sewer improvement work in Prehen, County Londonderry to enhance the local sewerage infrastructure and reduce the risk of out of sewer flooding in the area. 

The sewer improvements, which will be mainly undertaken using trenchless techniques to minimise disruption, wil get underway next week in Prehen Park and will be extended to various areas of Prehen over a period of approximately 8 weeks. Work at most locations should take no longer than 1-2 days to complete.

NI Water’s Robert McLean, Senior Project Manager explained: “This essential work will involve the repair of existing sewers using underground trenchless techniques where possible. This innovative approach will significantly reduce the duration of the works and disruption to the public. Where this method of repair is not possible, due to the condition of the sewer, ‘open-dig’ repairs will be carried out. The programme of sewer repairs for the Prehen area will also involve some work on private lands.

“NI Water through our project team, CivCo and AECOM, will liaise with any residents, businesses and landowners directly affected by these works. We appreciate that work of this nature can be disruptive and we will endeavour to keep disruption to a minimum.

“We would like to thank the public for their patience and cooperation as we complete this essential work. Local communities will benefit from these sewer improvements and reduced flood risk for many years to come.” 

The work will be undertaken at various locations around Prehen and signage will be in place in the affected areas. In order to safely undertake any work located on roads, it may be necessary to have short duration lane closures in place with two-way traffic maintained using temporary traffic controls where appropriate. Vehicular access for residents and businesses will be maintained as far as possible but could be subject to slight delays, while pedestrian access will be available at all times. Parking restrictions may be in place around working areas.

Where possible, the works will be undertaken during normal working hours, which will generally be 8.00-6.00pm. However, depending on location, it may be necessary to undertake some of the work during the evening/night to reduce disruption to businesses and the public. 

NI Water manages a network of 15,600km of sewers on a daily basis and we have invested billions in our water and wastewater infrastructure. However, no amount of investment will completely stop blocked pipes or inappropriate items polluting our environment. Items such as baby wipes and sanitary products are often the cause of out of sewer flooding which can easily be avoided by only flushing the 3Ps: pee, poo and toilet paper; everything else needs to go in the bin.

Ends

Notes to editors:

• NI Water has a new 3-step process, which allows our team of experts to work closely with developers to assess any network or treatment capacity issues associated with proposed new developments.
• We want to ensure that the development process is as simple as possible, so it’s really important to get in touch with the team prior to any application for planning approval.

For more information, and to complete our new Pre-Planning Process form, log on to: niwater.com/services-for-developer

• Beware of Bogus Callers – if you are concerned about the identity of someone at your door, you can call the PSNI non-emergency number ‘101’ where you will have the option of a ‘Quickcheck’ to confirm the caller is from the utility they say they are.

• Do not let children go near work sites or equipment, this can be extremely dangerous.

For further information, please email press.office@niwater.com