A GIANT overland sewer pipe which has been in place in Stevenston for six months has now been removed.

The pipe was put in place while Scottish Water completed a multi-million-pound upgrade of the local sewer network.

The 12-metre-long sections of temporary pipe were bolted together above ground so that more than a kilometre of existing underground sewer could be relined between Stevenston and Saltcoats.

The pipe ran along the path from Auchenharvie Golf Club to Sandylands holiday park and carried up to 700 litres of waste water every second between a pumping station in Saltcoats to the treatment works in Stevenston.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: The sewer pipe had been in place in Stevenston for around six months.

This meant that despite the realignment work taking place, customers remained unaffected throughout the duration of the work.

Georgina Reid, Scottish Water’s corporate affairs manager for the west, said: “This has been a monumental effort by everyone concerned.

“The sheer scale of the operation was daunting, but our alliance partner and their specialist contractors worked tirelessly to complete the work required.

“This investment will now improve the resilience of the network, drastically reduce the likelihood of further bursts and protect the environment and local bathing beaches."

The project, which was delivered by Scottish Water’s alliance partner Caledonia Water Alliance (CWA), saw £4 million pumped into a solution for the problematic pipeline after several bursts in the sewer network last year.

A faulty main at a pumping station in Saltcoats forced the emergency discharge of sewage into the sea in nearby Stevenston in June 2022 - prompting a bathing water warning.

A member of the public reported a "huge hole" in the banking between the slaughterhouse and the sewage works behind Canal Street, with waste water rising up and flooding on to the golf course.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: The sewer pipe had been in place in Stevenston for around six months.

Beginning in May 2023, over two kilometres of fencing was installed and around 100 sections of 700mm steel pipe shipped from the Netherlands and assembled using more than 4,000 bolts.

Engineers also had to install two complex connections to allow flows to be diverted along the new temporary pipeline, and a five-metre high pipe bridge had to be installed to allow access to a local caravan park, golf course and abattoir.

Ms Reid added: “This was a tried and tested method to deliver the resilience required as quickly as possible and with as little disruption as possible.

“We are extremely grateful to everyone involved, suppliers, contractors, customers and the local community.

“Scottish Water will continue to invest many millions of pounds on similar projects across the country to tackle the challenges of climate change, ageing infrastructure and increasing demand."

While Paul Milligan, communications manager with CWA, thanked local people and businesses for their understanding while the work took place.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: The sewer pipe had been in place in Stevenston for around six months.

He commented: “We would like to thank Parkdeans Sandylands Holiday Park, Dunbai Highlands Meats Plant, Saltcoats Victoria FC and Auchenharvie Golf Course for their patience and understanding during this vital project.

“We were very glad to successfully reline the pipe so we could remove the temporary overland pipe.

“It was a fantastic team effort to get the pipe relined and help to protect the bathing waters of Saltcoats and Stevenson.”