The future generations of Whitby will have their water supplies secured as work has already started on a new large service reservoir.
An underground reservoir located off Castle Road (near Sneaton Castle) is being replaced by Yorkshire Water, with a bigger one that’ll be able to cope with the predicted population growth.
The company has dozens of these reservoirs under its operation across the region, although it’s highly unlikely that customers would have actually spotted any of them. They’re buried underground, vary in size and are used for the storage of treated drinking water before it gets fed through to the customers’ taps. Many of these have been operating for 25 to 100 years and although regularly maintained, Yorkshire Water will also be able to improve the quality of the water Whitby’s customers receive.
The Castle Road site houses three of these service reservoirs, with the one earmarked for replacement dating all the way back to 1910, so it’s over 100 years old.
Mott McDonald Bentley (MMB) has been engaged for the execution of the project. Their first job will involve the demolition of the existing reservoir to make space for the new one.
Come summer 2018 when it’s complete, the reservoir will have the capacity to hold 6 million litres of quality treated water. An Olympic size pool holds 2.5 million litres of water, to put some perspective on this.
Project Manager, Dave Ellis, said, “We’re committed to providing our customers with some of the best drinking water in the world. This investment should ensure that our customers in Whitby continue to receive a secure supply and excellent water quality for another 80 years.”
“For eight weeks from 6 February, temporary traffic lights will be in place on Castle Road whilst we demolish the existing reservoir’s retaining wall and set up access to the our site. All the site traffic will travel from the West, via the B1460, to avoid travelling through Whitby and a temporary speed limit of 40mph will be placed on Castle Road to allow vehicles to enter and exit the site safely. We’re sorry for any disruption the work and temporary speed restriction may cause.”
Neither MMB nor Yorkshire Water employees will need to gain access to residents’ properties. Residents are alerted to be on their guard against bogus callers. Genuine employees carry identity cards which can be verified by calling 0345 1 24 24 24 and won’t mind waiting while their credentials are verified.