United Utilities has reached the momentous halfway point in its Vyrnwy Aqueduct Modernisation Programme (VAMP), upgrading 139 km of pipes that serve water to a million customers across Cheshire and Merseyside.
The Vyrnwy Aqueduct consists of three parallel pipes that run from Lake Vyrnwy through to Merseyside, and account for an impressive 12% of our raw water through the North West.
The eight-year project to upgrade and reinvest in the water network spans from our Water Treatment at Oswestry, through to Prescot and cleaning a total of 139km of pipework, and the first pipe was installed in 1892 to help deliver clean drinking water to customers and communities across Cheshire, Merseyside and the wider region, transporting up to 210 million litres of water a day to just under a million customers.
Will Eyre, regional delivery manager for the Vyrnwy Aqueduct Modernisation Programme, said: “We’re really pleased with progress on this extensive and innovative project, which spans such a huge part of our region. We have trialled and tested new technology, worked with local authorities and stakeholders to manage timelines, and have engaged with landowners and occupiers in more than 70 areas of privately owned land.
“We continue to engage with the local community from the full stretch between Malpas and Prescot, and we’re pleased to say that overall, they have been very welcoming and understand why it needs to happen.
“We have only achieved this by working closely with our construction partners at AVOVE and OCU who have worked collaboratively to achieve these goals. What we have achieved just in the first three years of this programme is due to the incredible effort from all of the team. We are continuously learning and adopting new approaches as we progress.”
Aqueduct modernisation programme reaches half-way stage
