Work is due to start this week on the first of 27 Yorkshire Water projects in the Rotherham area, a £73.5m programme designed to cut sewer discharges into local watercourses. The opening scheme focuses on a new storm overflow project at Lord Street.

Costing £2.3m, the scheme will expand storm water storage on the local network with the construction of an 80m³ storm tank. New pipework and an upgrade of the existing combined sewer overflow chamber are planned to reduce spills from the Clifton Lord Street overflow into Herringthorpe Beck, a tributary of the River Don.

Vikki Overend, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: "This is one of the first of 27 projects to improve overflows in the Rotherham area, with a combined investment of £73.5m. These projects aim to reduce the number and duration of wastewater discharges into local watercourses following periods of prolonged or heavy rain.

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"Our project partners, Ward & Burke, are due to start the site set up on Monday 15 June and will begin construction of the new storage facility in early July. This will take place within a secure boundary of four empty allotments plots that will be fully reinstated, so that they can be brought back into community use on completion next year."

Yorkshire Water says it is delivering its largest-ever environmental programme, with £8.3bn to be invested across the region over the next five years to upgrade infrastructure and improve services.

Of this, £1.5bn is earmarked to reduce the need for storm overflow discharges by building new surface water sewers, underground storage tanks, nature-based solutions and sustainable drainage systems, supporting the sewer network to deliver cleaner, healthier rivers and coastal waters.

Access to the Clifton allotments will be maintained throughout the works and allotment holders are not expected to be affected.