WORK on installing a new 3km water pipe between Boughton and Huntington in Chester is expected to begin this month.

A traffic order notice has indicated the £10 million works, to be carried out by Severn Trent Water, will lead to road closures along the B5130 Sandy Lane, Dee Banks and Chester Road Huntington from Monday, January 29.

It is expected the works will take about 11 months to complete – ie until mid-December 2024.

Severn Trent Water works have been taking place on a small stretch of Dee Banks this month, leading to one lane closure and temporary traffic lights in place.

Cheshire West and Chester Council explained the reason for the works: "Severn Trent Water is laying a new water pipe from Huntington Water Treatment Works to Boughton Water Treatment Works. It's being installed to ensure over 100,000 Chester customers have clean drinking water.

"OFWAT, the water industry regulator, issued Severn Trent with a direction to reduce the number of customers dependant on a single source of supply for their water.

"The population of 101,102 people in Chester is currently solely reliant on Boughton Water Treatment Works (WTW) for their water supply. In an emergency event at Boughton WTW suffering a sudden failure for an extended period, those customers would be without water.

"The proposed solution is to connect United Utilities' Huntington WTW's to Severn Trent's Boughton WTW. This involves a 3km pipeline.

"The initial work involves several other utilities moving their existing services to make room for the new pipe."

Road closures will be in place during the works.

Severn Trent had previously informed residents there would be road closures as part of its project, one of the biggest investments the company has made in the city.

Catherine Webb, Severn Trent community communications officer, said: “It’s really important to us that our customers in Chester have water when they need it, so this project is vital in making sure we’re able to help keep the water flowing for everyone, and the new pipe we’re installing will help us do that.

“This is a huge investment for Chester and a project we’re really excited to be delivering for the community."

Severn Trent customers in Chester receive a water-only service from the company, with around 100,000 customers in the city and 46,000 households.

The water treatment works at Boughton, on the outskirts of Chester has been treating water from the River Dee and providing drinking water for the people of Chester for more than 160 years.