St Sampson’s harbour to have a temporary sewer in place
GUERNSEY WATER has started the final phase of its drainage project around St Sampson’s Harbour, aimed at cutting foul water flooding.
This will see upgrades for the 17m deep pumping station at the southern edge of the harbour. The station transfers sewer flows from large parts of the Vale and St Sampson’s onwards to the wastewater centre at Belle Greve.
Guernsey Water capital delivery manager Mark Walker said: ‘Although the upgrading of the station sounds simple when compared to previous phases of the project, in order to carry out the works the station will need to be bypassed and isolated from existing sewer flows, which on average measure 150 litres per second.’
Mr Walker said that in order to divert sewer flows a temporary sewer will be installed across the entrance of St Sampson’s Harbour, under the harbour bed so as not to disrupt boats.
Works to install it are anticipated to be carried out during a significantly low tide in August.
While the final phase of this project is not expected to be significantly disruptive, it will require the temporary closure of the cesspit lorry emptying point at North Side and an increase in the use of alternative emptying points in the area.
Guernsey Water apologised in advance for any inconvenience caused by the works to residents in the area.
‘The overall aim of the project is to reduce foul water flooding and to reduce the volume of spills from the combined sewer overflows,’ said Mr Walker.
‘We have already seen improvements in water flow levels from the work we have completed so far and we will soon be able to assess if the work is having a positive impact on the frequency of flooding.’
The project is one of the largest in Guernsey Water’s current 10-year business plan, which was launched in April 2016, with an investment of £5m.
