THIS monster hole is part of a multi-million pound scheme to fix recurring flood problems in a Liverpool suburb.
The huge storage tank – 25m in diameter and 35m deep – currently under construction in Mab Lane, West Derby, will store enough water to be able to take more than 70 homes off the flood risk register.
When finished, the gaping structure will be completely covered.
Specialist civil engineers DCT have been called in to oversee the project.
A team of 25 engineers have been working on the site since June and are expected to complete the storage tank by March, 2010, six months ahead of schedule.
The streets around Mab Lane flood several times a year, regularly affecting 71 houses.
At their worst, United Utilities reported flood levels which easily reached up to free-standing road signs.
Problems with the combined sewer system in the area means heavy rainfall can easily block up drains.
Project manager Nick Hoctor said: “We had just done a similar job in Rossendale for United Utilities, so we have been able to tweak a few things when they asked us to accelerate the programme.
“The biggest problem we have with a site of this size is getting the muck away – on average, it is 50 or 60 lorry-loads a day.”
The Mab Lane project is one of the biggest of its kind ever undertaken by United Utilities.
It is part of its £2.9bn water quality and environmental improvement programme for 2005-2010.
United Utilities project manager Carly Ratcliffe said: “It took a long while to design this scheme and it was financed by our regulator to be done within these five years.
“This essential work will be of great benefit to properties which, in the past, have experienced the distress and inconvenience caused by sewer flooding.
“We have been working closely with the council and 2020 Liverpool to keep the visual impact to the community woodland to an absolute minimum.”
The scheme, just one element of United Utilities five-year improvement plan for Merseyside, initially concerned residents over issues such as noise and disruption.
Mr Hoctor was appointed community liaison to keep channels open between residents and the water company.
Initiatives included an open day to meet with residents and show them the site, and tours for schoolchildren to alert them the dangers of playing on building sites.
West Derby councillor John Prince said despite “some teething problems”, the long-term affects of the scheme would be “entirely positive”.
He said: “Residents have been strongly in favour.”
