NEARLY £800,000 will be poured into East Tynedale’s sewer network to prevent future flooding.

Northumbrian Water is investing £785,000 to upgrade the sewers serving Prudhoe, Wylam and Ovingham.

The move is part of the company’s surface water management programme, Rainwise.

A total of 300 metres of additional sewer pipe will be laid to increase capacity across key areas of the network.

Work will take place at Dene Road in Wylam and Tyne View, Castle Road and Maple Grove in Prudhoe.

A swale, a long grassy channel that collects rainwater naturally, will also be created on land between Rowan Grove and Prudhoe Castle First School.

Work is set to begin in Wylam on Monday, March 13, and is expected to take seven weeks to complete in that area.

By the end of April, the scheme will progress into Prudhoe where work is expected to take around 11 weeks to complete.

In Ovingham, proposals are being developed to deliver the Rainwise scheme in partnership with Northumberland County Council’s own £717,000 surface water management project.

The work is expected to begin in September and take up to six months to complete.

Key areas include Dene Close, Wheatfield Close, Castle View, Dene Garth and Piper Road.

Residents can find out more about the project and give their feedback at a drop-in session on Tuesday, March 7, between 3.30pm and 6.30pm at Ovingham Reading Room.

Northumbrian Water’s Rainwise initiative works with communities to identify opportunities to reduce the amount of surface water entering the sewer network.

Northumbrian Water’s project manager Ian Davison said: “A growing population, heavier rainfall and more hard surfaces that don’t absorb water are putting increasing pressure on our sewer network.

“Increasing the capacity in the network is particularly important to reduce the risk of flooding during heavy rainfall.

“While our work is carried out we will do everything we can to keep disruption to a minimum and would like to thank the community for their co-operation.”

Customers can visit www.nwlcommunityportal.co.uk for regular updates about the progress on work being carried out in their area, or call Northumbrian Water on 0345 717 1100.