£2m investment to reduce discharges from North Yorkshire storm overflow underway

Yorkshire Water is investing £2m at a storm overflow in the village of Langthorne, 4km north of Bedale to reduce the number of discharges into a tributary of the River Swale, improving the health of the watercourse. 

A new 500m surface water sewer will be laid from the village green to the watercourse, preventing surface water from entering the combined sewer network and mixing with wastewater.

Once completed, the project is expected to reduce discharges from Langthorne storm overflow into the River Swale tributary during periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall by 50%, as flows within the combined sewer will be significantly reduced. 

Contract partners Mott Macdonald Bentley are already underway with the project and are expecting to complete it in March 2025. 

Omair Khan, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “The project at Langthorne is part of a £180m investment project across Yorkshire by the end of April 2025 to reduce discharges from storm overflows, and is an important step in improving the quality of watercourses in and around north Yorkshire.

“Separating surface water from wastewater before they enter the combined sewer reduces flows in the sewer network during period of heavy or prolonged rainfall, reducing the need for overflows to operate to protect homes and gardens from flooding.” 

Yorkshire Water is working on a number of storm overflow discharge reduction projects nearby – including £900k at Marton-Le-Moor, and £1.5m at the Clock Tower overflow in Ripon. 

The utility is also planning its largest ever environmental investment between 2025 and 2030, which includes over £1bn to further reduce the impact of storm overflow discharges on the region’s watercourses.