Working Near Our Pipes
We’re committed to maintaining and operating our network of water and wastewater pipes in a safe and reliable way, with minimum inconvenience to our customers.
Working near our pipes
This video explains what to consider before you start any building work on your new project. This is to make sure that water and wastewater supplies are not impacted by any work on or around our pipes.
To ensure our water continues to flow and meet the required high standards and that the wastewater is taken away and treated ready to return to the environment, we have to coordinate lots of people from across our organisation.
So, if you're planning works over or near to one of our mains or sewers anywhere in the North West of England, you will need to contact us before you start any works.
Please call 0345 026 8989 option 1 or email Selflay@uuplc.co.uk.
It is important that you minimise the risk of damage to our network, so we will need to check that your development doesn’t reduce capacity, limit our access to repair or maintain or inhibit any other services that we provide.
If you suspect you have, damaged one of our pipes, please contact us urgently on 0345 672 3723 (24-hours-a-day).
Further information
Please read the information below if you are carrying out CCTV work on sewers and/or manholes, or planning any works next to our pipe lines.
Standard conditions for works
Standard conditions for work carried out over, under or adjacent to a UU Pipeline which can include multiple UU Pipelines laid adjacent to each other. See the guidance document below for further guidance.
Standard conditions for works adjacent to pipelines
The Mersey Valley Sludge Pipeline
The Mersey Valley Sludge Pipeline is a 400mm ductile iron pipeline which runs from Oldham WwTW in Manchester to Liverpool WwTW in Regent Road Liverpool. The pipeline is owned by United Utilities and laid and operated under the 1977 North West Water Authority Act. It operates at pressures up to 25 bars (375 psi) and a flow rate of up to 205 ltrs/sec. Its location is indicated by marker posts at regular intervals, including at every gas release valve and sludge washout valve location.
MVSP UU pipeline contractor work guidance