Survey Work Begins for Scarborough Wastewater Network Upgrades

Topographical land surveys will begin across Scarborough this week to prepare for a multi-million-pound transformation of the town's wastewater infrastructure.

Underground utility mapping and topographical surveys will begin across Scarborough from August 10th to prepare for a multi-million-pound transformation of the town's wastewater network.

Yorkshire Water says its contract partners Mott MacDonald Bentley and Socotec will deploy across the town to take distance and elevation measurements. The teams will use ground-penetrating radar equipment to scan for subterranean pipes and cables, marking their locations on the road surface to guide future engineering works.

Miles Cameron, Yorkshire Water's bathing water partnerships manager, outlined the initial phase of the work:

"This is initially investigatory and what we call topographical survey work. This is in preparation for the multi-million pound investment which is coming to Scarborough as well, which is really exciting.

This work is to really start understanding where services are, the lay of the land, disruptively. The idea being it's minimally disruptive, but you will see some high viz jackets around and some activity and some of the highways and byways in Scarborough."

Discussing the ground-penetrating radar equipment used by the surveying teams, Miles Cameron said the hardware:

"It's common technology in the utility sector and construction or pre-construction activities. That will be looking at what's underneath the ground. You'd say well don't you know already well we do we do to some extent but of course we need to make sure that cables, wires, pipes, etc. ubderground, it's very busy under there, that we use technology to make sure we either avoid them. We know that they are if they indeed they had to be moved in the event that part of the programmed solutions will be having to do that. So, yeah, it's it's technology that's well used and understood by experts in that space."

Temporary traffic management will be implemented at various points during the investigation to ensure the safety of the workforce. Addressing the potential impact on roads during the busy summer season, Miles Cameron said:

"We hope to minimize that, of course. We know what disruption's like. It's high season, of course. We've got tourists, as well as people wanting to get to and from work. So, we will absolutely go out of our way to minimize that.

You might seee some rolling road closures that are only there for a period of time, some traffic lights. But where we can, we will avoid that. But, of course, it would be foolish to not say there might be a little bit of disruption, but, hopefully, we keep that to a minimum. But, yeah, certainly, you'll see that over the coming days and weeks."

Providing a timeline for the presence of survey teams in the town, Miles Cameron added:

"I would suggest it's going to be a few months of this work. Hopefully, as I said, minimal disruption, but it's worth being aware there will be visible people in high-viz jackets, as you'll see, and people with tools and equipment.

What I would say, it's not should be particularly disruptive in terms of digging up and excavating. We're not at that stage.

Once this survey and analytical work has been done, that then goes back to the ranch for want of a better word and that starts to get assimilated into the program and starts to shape the next step in what's the plan, which is going to be delivering something over the next two, three, four years. Really exciting for Scarborough."

The physical investigations follow the closure of phase one of the public consultation, which asked residents to share their views on potential options for the overall project. Lee Shepherd, capital delivery programme manager at Yorkshire Water, said:

"We’re currently reviewing all the responses that we received during the public consultation process. Thank you to everyone who got in touch and spent the time chatting to our colleagues in person at one of our drop-in events, or leaving comments online.

The next stage of the programme is to begin looking at the ground conditions across Scarborough, to help determine how we might be able to deliver some of the options we have for the various projects."

The Scarborough project is part of a broader £8.3 billion investment programme by Yorkshire Water, scheduled for completion by 2030. This includes £1.5 billion dedicated to upgrading the sewer network to reduce the operation of storm overflows. These overflows act as relief valves for the combined sewer network during heavy rainfall, preventing wastewater from backing up into homes, gardens, and businesses. Highlighting the collaborative nature of these environmental improvements, Miles Cameron said:

"We've got a big part to play. We recognize that in terms of improving service for our customers, the bathing water quality environment, we feel very close to that, and I know our customers feel very strongly about that. But absolutely, it's a bigger partnership.

We're working incredibly closely with colleagues in North Yorkshire Council and with the Environment Agency. Everybody has that part to play and customers, of course, in terms of what to put down the network. So, as much as there's going to be lots of activity, you'll see lots of Yorkshire Water and contractors in the town over the coming years, we're also working sort of hand in glove with North Yorkshire and EA. And, hopefully, that reassures customers that we're committed to doing that all the way through the program."

As the initial survey phase gets underway, Lee Shepherd added:

"We appreciate everyone’s patience whilst we complete this important stage in the programme."