Drainage improvements to St Sampson update

Phase two and three of Guernsey Water's £3 million investment to improve drainage around St Sampson Harbour is progressing well.

These phases have involved replacing 235 metres of the existing sewer along Vale Road, increasing its size and storage capacity to prevent flooding in the area and building new and upgrading existing gravity sewers around Summerfield Road and La Hure Mare.

The work is part of a wider sewerage infrastructure programme to help alleviate issues of flooding and pollution in the St Sampson's area. When all the work is complete in late 2018 or early 2019 significant operational benefits will be seen from the network.

Guernsey Water's capital delivery manager, Mark Walker said: "Although we have had to extend the completion date of the work on Vale Road we are making good progress and expect the road to be re-opened in the first week of March.  However work of this sort remains weather dependent; heavy rain or high winds will continue to have an impact on our progress, especially for the tarmac resurfacing which vitally needs dry conditions to ensure durability of the road surface."

The new sewer on Vale Road is now in place and the contractor is working on excavations to build the two outstanding manhole chambers, connecting remaining properties onto the new sewer and preparing the road for interim resurfacing.

During this time Guernsey Water has been working with other utilities and businesses to avoid multiple closures of the road in the future.  A new water main has been laid; IEG has replaced an old cast iron gas main and Sure has conducted some minor repair work to several ducts and telecoms services.

Mr Walker said:  "The interim road surface needs to settle over the next 12 to 24 months and, after that time, Vale Road's surface will need to be replaced and the road will close for a few weeks."

Upgrading the rising main along Bulwer Avenue was the first phase of the project allowing greater flows to pass from St Sampson Harbour pumping station to the Belle Greve Wastewater Centre (BGWwC).  There have already been fewer and shorter occasions when the chamber of the pumping station has been at a high level and thereby surcharging the upstream sewer network with a consequence of sewage spills from the overflow at Northside into the sea.

Despite greater flows pumped out of the long sea outfall, the increased discharge and volume passed forward have not had a detrimental impact on the performance of BGWwC.

Phase three (La Hure Mare and Summerfield Road) work will continue with road closures in sections until late summer and phase four,  the St Sampson Harbour pumping station refurbishment, will begin in the autumn. It is expected to be complete around the turn of the current year.

"We would like to thank everyone for their continued patience, particularly the residents in the areas who have often needed to use temporary parking bays. We appreciate commuters have also been affected by the inevitable traffic delays," Mr Walker said.

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