Over the past five years, 36 homes have experienced flooding by the foul sewer network. 

The £7m scheme includes the upsizing of 1.7km of the existing sewer and upgrades of the sewers to North Hinksey Pumping Station. The scheme will take waste away from a new housing development and manage existing flows.

Gordon Percy, Thames Water’s head of programme delivery, said:

"This is a major project to make our network around Oxfordshire fit for the future. We have every sympathy for the homes that have suffered at the hands of sewer flooding and there is just no place for it in the 21st century.

"This is a very complex scheme and we have looked at more than 80 options to ensure we get the right solution for the long-term to protect homes in Botley."

The work will be completed in three phases, with the final section set to start in January 2012., will include building a storage tank at the south end of North Hinksey Lane and upsizing the existing sewer for 1.7km along the road.

The upgrades are due to be completed by September 2012.

Hungerford reservoir nears completion

Thames Water also said that an £800K scheme to improve the management of local water supplies in Hungerford is now almost finished -  in mid February the company started work to increase the capacity of the town's reservoir by a third.

The project is now in its final stages ahead of a four-week testing period to ensure the extension to the reservoir is working as planned.

Hungerford is a 'storage reservoir', a covered-over holding tank that stores treated water on its way to 2,800 properties in the area. The expanded reservoir will ensure there is always sufficient water readily available at peak times of day.

Hungerford's water is taken from underground boreholes which is cleaned and treated before being pumped to the reservoir.

The treated water is then fed on demand into the local mains network and after customers have used the water, the resulting wastewater is treated at the town's sewage works and fed back into the River Kennet.

Lawrence Gosden, Thames Water’s head of capital delivery, commented:

"All Hungerford's water comes from the Kennet catchment and is returned there after it is used, causing no lasting environmental impact on this important chalk stream and the wildlife habitats it supports.

"The aim of this work to expand the reservoir is to manage local water resources more effectively over the long term by increasing the treated water we hold in the reservoir."