Yorkshire Water is to begin work to reduce discharges from a storm overflow in Norton.

The £2.3m project will include the construction of a new 343m3 storage tank on land off Bark Knott Terrace on Welham Road, to hold excess wastewater flows during periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall.

The excess flows will be held in the below-ground storage tank and released back to the sewer network when capacity is available for treatment.

Once completed, the project is expected to reduce the number of discharges into Mill Beck by more than 20%.

Omair Khan, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “Improving the water quality in our rivers is important to both us and our customers, and this project will significantly reduce discharges from our Welham Road storm overflow into Mill Beck.

“The project is part of a £180m investment across Yorkshire to reduce storm overflow discharges into the region’s watercourses by April 2025. Beyond that, we are planning our largest ever environmental investment between 2025 and 2030, which includes over £1bn to further reduce the impact of overflows on our watercourses.”

The work, which is being carried out by Mott MacDonald Bentley, will begin in October and is expected to be complete in spring 2025.

Additional projects at nearby villages are already underway, including a £1.4m investment in Scrayingham and a £1.1m scheme in West Lilling. Both projects will reduce the need for storm overflow discharges into the river Derwent and Black Dike during heavy or prolonged rainfall by separating the surface water network from the current combined sewer system.