United Utilities have begun digging in a historic area of Blackburn, sparking an interest in the town’s industrial heritage.

Due to the potential of finding something significant during the dig, experts form NP Archaeology will be on site during the excavation to spot potential artefacts.

The waste water company are currently in the process of upgrading the town’s sewer system, which will prevent sewage being discharged into the river Darwen at times of heavy rainfall. The work at Cob Wall is taking place in two phases over the next two years.

United Utilities will also be constructing an underground waste water storage tank to capture excess stormwater in a car park off Preston Old Road.

The United Utilities project manager on the job, Carly Atherton said:

“This project is all about creating a cleaner, greener future for Blackburn. Improving the quality of local rivers and coastal waters is vital for the environment, for tourism and for business. We will be doing everything we can to minimise disruption during the two new phases of work.

“The work in Cob Wall is especially interesting from an archaeological point of view, as this part of Blackburn was the site of many industrial revolution era textile mills. The archaeologists will be working shoulder to shoulder with our engineers, to make sure any significant artefacts are preserved.”

Thames Water has just launched a scheme which will help protect residents in Leytonstone from the chances of sewer flooding.

The scheme will be taking place for three months and will see sewers around High Road in Leytonstone increase in size. It is being completed by Thames Water drainage contractors.

Approximately 1km of sewerage will be replaced by the contractors which should stop sewer flooding, a problem which residents have complained about for a number of years.

The programme delivery manager for Thames Water, Mark Taylor, stated:

“Sewer flooding is a truly miserable experience and we are committed to doing everything we can to protect our customers by making the network fit for the future.

“We are sorry for any disruption caused but we ask customers to bear with us while we get this essential work done.”

The work will take place along roads including, Belton Road, Argyle Road, Borthwick Road, Hall Road, Downsell Road and Victoria Road.

The Waltham Forest Council cabinet member, Clyde Loakes stated:

“We have been working closely with Thames Water to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum and to make sure the Olympic 2012 street scene improvement works, particularly along the High Road, are not affected.”

There are many reasons why a person may phone a drain cleaning company in London, but perhaps the most common is due to them having a blocked drain.

Drains can be blocked by many things, from the inadvertent flushing of a non-disposable item down the toilet, to pipe collapse. However, when you contact a professional drain cleaning company they will be able to help with most problems.

Drainage blocked by debris

If your drains are found to be blocked due to debris, the usual method of repair is drain jetting. In this process a jet of water at high pressure is directed down the drain, which is usually enough to break up the clog.

Drainage blocked by roots

If the drainage company find that your drainage pipes are blocked by roots they will be able to insert a spinning root cutter into the drain to trim away any roots they find. They will then usually be able to repair the pipe in situ without any exaction by means of a resin pipe liner.

Drainage blocked by pipe collapse

If your drainage pipe has collapsed or deviated significantly, the drainage company will be able to locate the exact point at which this has happened and then excavate a small area to replace the damaged section, thus minimising disruption to the surrounding area.

Drain lining is becoming a popular method to repair cracks in drainage pipes. Instead of a broken pipe being excavated and replaced, most pipes can now be repaired in situ by inserting a drain liner into the broken section of pipe. The drain liner adheres to the inside of the pipe and an effective seal is created.

Most cracks in drainage pipes can only be found after a CCTV survey has been carried out. The drain may be recurrently becoming blocked or foul odours may be noticed in the vicinity of the drainage pipe. When this happens the drainage professionals will have to carry out a full investigation of the drainage system so the cause of the problem can be located.

The best way that drainage professionals can look at the structure of the drainage system is to use a CCTV survey camera. The camera is inserted into the drain and images of the inside of the drainage pipe are relayed onto a computer screen, which can then be analysed by the drainage professionals.

When the location of the break in the drain has been found, an epoxy-resin liner can be inserted into the drain and blown to the damaged section of pipe. The liner then sets in situ and provides a water tight seal that no water or waste can penetrate.

There are many reasons why a drain may become blocked, but most blockages can be solved quite simply by a team of drain cleaning experts.

Drain cleaners have a wealth of knowledge concerning many different types of drain blockages. They use this experience to their advantage and can often solve some of the most difficult drainage problems quite quickly.
Some of the services a drain cleaning company offers include:

• Drain unblocking
• Root removal
• Water jetting
• Scale removal
• CCTV surveys
• Pipe replacement

Many of the drainage problems which drain cleaners find are unfortunately caused by the homeowners themselves. Homeowners commonly dispose of items such as fat and food debris into their drain. This is not however the best thing to do, as the accumulation of these items can eventually block a drain completely.

When liquid fat is poured into a drain it cools and then solidifies. This can block a drain and cause waste to back up into a person’s home. Fat can be removed from a drain quite successfully by using high pressure water jetting. The water can blast through stubborn clogs and leave the drain free to carry waste again.