Sewer upgrade to prevent future flooding in Craigleith – work now complete

Scottish Water has made a major investment in Craigleith upgrading a sewer which will help protect homes there from sewer flooding.

The utility company has said that the work is now complete after works in the area which closed many roads for up to 10 months.

The upgrade to wastewater infrastructure will increase the capacity of the sewer network protecting from external and internal sewer flooding.

A storm water storage tank which is 12 metre in diameter and 10 metres deep has been installed in land on the south east corner of the former Royal Victoria Hospital site, adjacent to the gate house there. In addition 225 metres of upsized sewer pipes have also been installed on Craigleith Road and Orchard Bank Road and a new bifurcation weir chamber.

Brian Whyte, Head of Operations for amey-binnes said: “We would like to thank the community for their understanding during this significant investment for the area. Due to the nature of the construction, this project has been disruptive, but the locals have been very patient. The site team kept residents informed of changes to their access throughout the works and made themselves available to assist with any queries or specific needs customers may have had.

Scott Fraser, Scottish Water Corporate Affairs Manager, said: “We know how much this investment means to residents who experienced internal flooding at times of heavy rainfall, which can overwhelm the sewer network. This work should significantly reduce the risk of future sewer flooding in Craigleith.

“We would like to thank the community and everyone else impacted while this work was carried out for their patience. We also want to highlight how, as we have invested in improving the sewer network, people can help us take care of it by only flushing the 3Ps – pee, poo and (toilet) paper and backing a ban on wet wipes through Scottish Water’s Nature Calls campaign.

The main construction work is now complete with the commissioning of the new infrastructure currently under way.