London, March 10, 2026, 00:10 GMT
United Utilities Group PLC on Monday announced the launch of two new water-quality initiatives in northwest England. The company has begun construction of a stormwater tank in Barrow, while also kicking off a £5 million project in Lancashire aimed at reducing storm overflow spills.
The changes come as Britain’s water companies face mounting calls to tackle storm overflows—those emergency relief points triggered when rainfall floods the sewer system—following years of frustration about sewage spills. In December, Ofwat projected that bills in England and Wales could jump an average 36% between 2025 and 2030, supporting a £104 billion investment push.
Investor demand is still holding up. After EQT agreed to acquire 42% of Kelda on Monday, Kunal Koya, partner at EQT Infrastructure, told Reuters that “fresh equity” would allow Yorkshire Water to finance necessary upgrades. Over at Thames Water, management has flagged a need for new capital as it faces pressure to overhaul old infrastructure and comply with environmental standards. Reuters
United Utilities has started construction on a stormwater storage tank beside the Tally Ho pub’s car park in Barrow, with a capacity topping 1,300 cubic metres. It’s part of a £100 million Barrow initiative targeting 21 storm overflows across nine sites, and the company expects to wrap up by 2028.
United Utilities has earmarked 5 million pounds for a pair of underground tanks in the Coupe Green and Gregson Lane neighborhoods of South Ribble, aiming for a total capacity north of 400,000 litres. Ground investigations kick off mid-March. Construction should get underway this summer, with a 12-month timeline.
The additional storage targets runoff into Many Brooks and Black Brook, both feeding into the River Darwen. Over at Barrow, projects focus on limiting spills into the Walney Channel, the Irish Sea, and Morecambe Bay. United Utilities said in its November half-year update that its five-year, £13 billion-plus investment plan remained on schedule, with storm overflow spills running about 40% lower year-to-date.
United Utilities’ regional delivery manager Fiona Edmondson said the Barrow tank marks the “third project underway” locally. Simon Holding, who leads wastewater treatment services for Lancashire, described the Darwen scheme as something “planned for a long time,” with a community information session scheduled for later this spring. United Utilities
United Utilities posted a 21% jump in half-year revenue to 1.31 billion pounds for the period ending Sept. 30, with reported pretax profit soaring to 325.3 million pounds—more than double the year-earlier figure—as the new price settlement bumped up allowed revenue. The report put net debt at 9.61 billion pounds, amounting to 60% of the regulator’s asset-value benchmark for the utility.
Still, there are hurdles—both operational and political. Last week, United Utilities flagged that clearing trees in Broadwater Wood is a prerequisite before heavy trucks can access the Rossall wastewater pipeline. The government, responding to pollution violations, has also prohibited United Utilities and five other companies from awarding executive bonuses in 2025.
The company said four additional Barrow projects will get underway in the next few months. Near Darwen, Daub Hall Lane is set to close temporarily during the Easter holidays, with site work kicking off.
