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What was the issue?
In June, a major incident was reported along the Lancashire Coast after untreated sewage entered the sea near Blackpool.
United Utilities confirmed that untreated sewage mixed with rain water had managed to leak from a pipe in their Fleetwood wastewater treatment facility.
This occurred as a direct result from a burst pipe which was then met with a storm that caused nearly two inches of rain to fall in just two hours.
How could we help United Utilities
United Utilities needed help to remove the untreated sewage from the Sewage Treatment Works to prevent further loss.
Suttons has worked with United Utilities on similar projects before, as well as Yorkshire Water, so we were more than capable of taking on this task.
We provided seven specialised vacuum tankers which could help prevent the sewage entering the sea efficiently but – more importantly – safely.
During the first week, the operation was ongoing so Suttons ran five tankers during the day and two at night, giving round the clock support to United Utilities.
Result
After four weeks of continuous work, we were able to extract more than ten million litres of sewage from entering the sea.
As a result, the area where the leakage occurred has seen a huge improvement. Once we completed four weeks of work we were asked to extend our contract on a week by week basis.
This work will continue until the pipework is repaired and the area is deemed safe by the appropriate authorities.