Community initiatives key to improving River Kent
Overview
Staveley is a small village in Cumbria, nestled at the foot of the Kentmere Valley and only a stone’s throw away from Windermere.
Challenge
The village is situated in a large catchment area with lots of groundwater that enters the sewers which can cause water management issues. During bad weather the village can experience flooding from manholes and spills from the local storm overflow.
Solution
Our plan includes both short term and long-term interventions. We’re increasing the treatment capacity of Staveley works by 50%, contributing £20K towards a council-led project to remove surface water in the village, as well as funding sustainable drainage solutions at the local school and large buildings in the area to capture rainwater run-off. We’re also offering every household in the village a water butt to help reduce the amount of rainfall entering the sewer system.
Outcome
By September 2024 our work will reduce spills to the River Kent by 35% with the other ambitious projects complete by 2030.
Projects like this will form part of our commitment to create better rivers. We are planning on investing £914 million to reduce spills from 158 storm overflows in Cumbria, as part of a proposed £13.7 billon investment to make a stronger, greener, healthier North West.