Sandy Lane, Chester
Works begins January 2024. Estimated completion in 12 months.
Severn Trent Water is laying a new water pipe from Huntington Water Treatment Works to Boughton Water Treatment Works. It's being installed to ensure over 100,000 Chester customers have clean drinking water.
OFWAT, the water industry regulator, issued Severn Trent with a direction to reduce the number of customers dependant on a single source of supply for their water. The population of 101,102 people in Chester is currently solely reliant on Boughton Water Treatment Works (WTW) for their water supply. In an emergency event at Boughton WTW suffering a sudden failure for an extended period, those customers would be without water.
The proposed solution is to connect United Utilities' Huntington WTW's to Severn Trent's Boughton WTW. This involves a 3km, pipeline.
The initial work involves several other utilities moving their existing services to make room for the new pipe.
Road closures will be in place during the works.
A number of alternative routes were considered, but the options were not approved for a number of reasons including sites of specific scientific interest, conservation areas and flood plains, and the endangered species that were present.
Route Option 1 was discounted as:
- Crosses the River Dee Site of Specific Scientific Interest and Priority Habitat.
- Crosses Chester Meadows, priority habitat, conservation area and flood plain.
- Challenging ground conditions presented many engineering challenges.
- Endangered species present.
Route Option 2B was discounted as:
- The route would cross Priority Habitat and local wildlife sites.
- Is situated within and/or adjacent to Flood Plain.
- Challenging ground conditions presented engineering difficulties.
- Risk assessment for landslip.
Route 3 was discounted as:
- Causes increased issues on the A5115 Christleton Road rather than a crossing.
Project updates
Contact details
Catherine Webb
Community Communications Officer
Severn Trent
- Email: Communitycomms@severntrent.co.uk
- Tel: 07971 304604
About Severn Trent
Since July 2018, the boundaries of Severn Trent and Dee Valley Water aligned to the border between England and Wales. Dee Valley Water changed name to Hafren Dyfrdwy and provides water services to customers living in Wales. People in Chester then moved to Severn Trent and customers receive a water-only service from Severn Trent. Welsh Water is responsible for the wastewater service in the area. United Utilities and Hafren Dyfrdwy borders are also very close by.
The water treatment works at Boughton, on the outskirts of Chester, has been treating water from the River Dee and providing drinking water for the people of Chester for the last 160+ years.
Since 2018, Severn Trent has invested over £4.5m in network improvements in the local area, to help stop future leaks, improve water quality and provide our customers in Chester a more reliable supply now and for the future.