Work completed to protect homes from flooding

External flooding of homes in Rock View, Sefton should soon be a thing of the past, thanks to work that’s been completed by United Utilities. 

The water company which has had a regular presence in the area, both above and below ground since 2020, has invested over £4 million upgrading the local sewer network.

Fifteen homes in the area have a history of external flooding when the local sewers become overloaded during heavy rainfall.

Part of the project involved building a new underground storm water storage tank on land next to Dapple Heath Avenue in Melling. 

The massive tank, located out of sight underground, measures 12 metres across and 8 metres deep.  It will be able to hold 630,000 litres of water.

Mark Walker, from United Utilities, said: “This scheme is all about increasing the amount of storm water we can capture underground during heavy rainfall, to help reduce the chance of sewers overflowing.

“This is a major investment for the area and the completion of this project will come as very good news for those householders who have experienced the awful problem of flooding from sewers. 

“There’s no way of doing engineering work of this scale without causing some temporary disruption. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the local community in the area for their understanding during our time on site.  We still have some elements of work to complete and we will continue to speak with residents as we near the end of this essential project.” 

A key part of protecting communities across the Borough from flooding is through collaborative work. United Utilities has recently signed a joint statement of intent with Sefton Council and the Environment Agency to reassure Maghull communities that they are continuing to work together to explore solutions to reduce the risk of flooding.

The newly established flood risk working group discuss both short and long term works to prevent and better manage flood risk. 

To read the statement in full, visit https://www.sefton.gov.uk/around-sefton/green-sefton/flooding-advice/