Storm overflow tank to improve river water quality

The River Yarrow is a tributary of the River Ribble

A new underground storage tank is being built to reduce storm overflows and improve water quality in the River Yarrow, a tributary of the River Ribble in Lancashire.

United Utilities (UU) said it was part of a two-year, £12m investment project at Duxbury Mill in Chorley.

The tank will be capable of storing three million litres (660,000 gallons) of water - more than an Olympic-sized swimming pool - on land adjacent to Miles Standish Way.

Members of the public are invited to find out more about the work at a drop-in session on Monday 27 October at Eaves Green Community Centre from 16:00 to 19:00 GMT.

The giant tank will be capable of storing three million litres of water

Simon Holding, UU's county business lead for wastewater services in Lancashire, said the tank would "act as huge holding areas for the extra rainfall that enters the sewer network in times of heavy rainfall".

"Creating this extra storage means that it isn't all hitting the wastewater treatment works at the same time and the system is less likely to be overwhelmed," he said.

Across Lancashire, UU said it was investing £490m during the next five years to deliver more than 90 projects to reduce storm overflows and improve the river environment.