South West Water says storm overflow spills at a site in Devon are seeing a significant reduction this year following work to increase storage and keep groundwater out of its local network.
Yeoford Wastewater Treatment Works near Crediton saw 123 storm overflow spills in 2024, as South West Water made improvements to the site’s storage and operational capabilities. As a result of the work, so far in 2025 there has been an 84% decrease in spills.
A new storm storage tank was installed at the site to hold excess flows into the treatment works when the site is at capacity. When the flows have reduced and the site can accept more wastewater, the tank will return its contents into the works for full treatment as soon as possible.
Once empty, the tank is automatically cleaned before its next use to ensure its full storage capacity is available and to maintain effective long-term performance.
in addition, South West Water has also carried out work in the local area to reline sewers and make repairs to faulty manholes.
Relining sewers reduces the amount of groundwater that enters the local network during wet weather, which can otherwise overwhelm the treatment works and lead to a storm overflow spill.
An initial inspection of the sewers is carried out by CCTV surveys to identify areas that may be impacted by groundwater. Affected areas are then thoroughly cleaned so the lining material can be pulled through the inside of the pipe and laid in place.
The lining is then cured within the sewer to provide a watertight protective seal and full structural strength before further CCTV surveys are used to confirm the lining has set as planned. Sewer liners have a design life in excess of 50-years.
Jay Harris, South West Water’s Director of Wastewater Services for the area, said:
“As someone who lives in the local area, seeing these improvements to our site and knowing the benefit it can have to our local environment through a reduction in storm overflows is really important to me and my teams.
"We’re spending record amounts to reduce our use of storm overflows across the entire region and seeing the results on an individual basis really helps to show the progress we are making.”
This is one in a series of changes South West Water is making to reduce storm overflow spills across the region. The work will see it become the first water company to meet the government’s target of achieving less than 10 spills per overflow, per year, by 2040 – a decade ahead of target.
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