Welsh Water completes a major section of its £2m Porth water upgrade on schedule
23 May 2018
A major piece of investment work which will help deliver first class drinking water to Porth residents for decades to come has been completed on time. The work by Welsh Water on Pontypridd Road, formed part of the wider £2million upgrade into the town’s drinking water system.
The work on Pontypridd Road involved laying around 400 meters of new pipework along this busy stretch of road in the town. To ensure the work was carried out safely it was necessary to close the road to through traffic and set up a diversion route through Hannah Street.
The company liaised closely with traders in the area to try to ensure the least disruption possible while they carried out the essential work. This involved holding drop in sessions prior to the work starting and regular visits to the traders during the course of the work. The not- for-profit company also located its dedicated customer information van in the area so that customers could call in if they had any queries about the work taking place.
Weekend work was also undertaken to try to accelerate the pipe laying process, especially through the residential area.
Local Councilor for Porth, Julie Williams said “I am pleased to see that the work along Pontypridd Road has been carried out in such a timely manner. We know that this was essential work and that some disruption would be inevitable however, the new water pipes will have long term benefits for all those living in the area for many years to come. The contractors were hard working, and did their best to get the job done as quickly as possible. Councillor Cox and I were kept up to date from beginning to end regarding this section of work”
Aled Morgan, Infrastructure Programme Manager from Welsh Water said: “We’re really pleased to have been able to complete this challenging part of the scheme on schedule. Working in such a busy area is never easy and we did all that we could to complete the work as quickly as possible to minimize disruption.
“We understand that our work can be inconvenient so we really do appreciate the cooperation shown to us by the local traders and local residents and would like to thank them for bearing with us. The section of work along Pontypridd Road was a major part to the scheme and we wanted to keep traders, customers and residents in the area informed from beginning to end.
“We’re still going to be working in the Porth area for the next few weeks and we will continue to keep customers living in the vicinity of our work updated as it progresses.
The road closure on Pontypridd Road will remain in place while the local authority complete some essential work to a retaining wall in the area.
Welsh Water’s work in Porth forms part of a wider investment the company is making into the drinking water pipes in Rhondda Fach. In total, the company is investing over £23 million in the area and essential improvements have already been made in areas including Maerdy, Stanleytown, Wattstown, Porth and Trehafod. The water mains are being renewed to ensure customers in the area continue to receive a first class drinking water supply for decades to come.