NEARLY a mile of water mains is being upgraded to boost supplies in Stogursey and Cannington as the first stage of a modernisation project begins.

Wessex Water is investing £600,000 in work which began on Monday (July 10) to replace pipes to the south of the Hinkley Point nuclear power station site.

The 15-week scheme will see nearly 4,265 feet of plastic pipework laid under private fields, replacing the decaying cement mains which has increasingly been prone to suffering bursts in recent years.

A second phase to replace a further 4,150 feet of the water main over the coming years, taking the total modernisation length to nearly 9,842 feet, is currently in the planning stage.

Project manager Nathan Storey said: “This main replacement will take place almost entirely within fields near Stogursey and we will be using open-cut and directional drilling methods to keep any disruption to a minimum.

“By replacing the older unstable main, we will be able to ensure our customers can enjoy improved water quality and a more reliable supply and reduce leaks from what are currently ageing and degrading pipes.”

Mr Storey said the water company was continuing to invest in the supply network by renewing ageing water mains as well as maintaining and improving facilities which helped to store and move water around the region for its customers.

About £12 million was spent each year on a regional network spanning more than 7,456 miles and supplying more than 282 million litres of water every day to 1.4 million households and 44,000 businesses.

He said the company currently spent £16 million a year on managing and reducing leaks and had repaired nearly 15,000 leaks between April, 2022, and March of this year.