Yorkshire Water starts work on £1.3 million investment in Ellerton

Work has begun to reduce discharges into the river Derwent from storm overflows.

Work has begun in Ellerton to complete a £1.3m investment by Yorkshire Water to reduce discharges into the river Derwent from storm overflows during periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall.  

Peter Duffy LTD, a Yorkshire Water contract partner, will be laying a new surface water sewer the length of the village to divert water flows away from the public combined sewer, reducing pressure on the storm overflow at Ellerton. Yorkshire Water and its contractors will also be working to reline 350 metres of the combined sewer in the village to prevent groundwater infiltration into the network. 

The scheme is expected to significantly reduce discharges from the overflow on Back Lane, Ellerton, improving water quality in the river Derwent. 

Martin Ineson, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We’re committed to playing our part in improving water quality across Yorkshire, and our work in Ellerton is just one of a number of storm overflow investments – totaling £180m before April 2025. Reducing the amount of surface water entering the watercourse during heavy or prolonged rainfall will reduce the number of discharges into the watercourse. 

“We’d like to thank residents and road users in advance for their patience and understanding whilst we put traffic management in place as we complete this important work.” 

As part of the works, Yorkshire Water will be creating a compound on land off Main Street, behind Barn Cottage and Little Owl Barn. Temporary traffic lights will be in place on Main Street until 13 September and will move along the road as the works progress.   

There will also be road closures in two locations on Back Lane to maintain access to the site, and these will be in place intermittently until 26 July.  

Pedestrian access to homes will be maintained throughout the works, but Yorkshire Water may need to work with residents when crossing driveways. On-street parking will be restricted near the working area.