Billie the drill goes underground in Preston

A tunnelling machine, named ‘Billie’ after a pupil at a local primary school, starts drilling today [Friday 29 November 2024] as part of a United Utilities project in Hoyles Lane, Cottam to upgrade the local sewer system and reduce flooding.

The tunnelling machine was named after a pupil at Lea Endowed Primary school which is located close to the site and where United Utilities has recently finished work to improve the school grounds.

United Utilities’ Third-Party Co-ordinator, Lesley Miller, explained: “We came to the school to talk about how our team planned to volunteer their time over a weekend to improve its grounds and to tell them a little bit about the sewer upgrade project we are working on in their neighbourhood.

“Billie was so interested in what we were doing and asked so many questions we thought she would be the perfect person to name the tunnelling machine after.

“Along with her school headteacher, Catherine Seagrave, Billie recently visited the site so she could see her name on the machine,” added Lesley.

Headteacher, Catherine Seagrave, commented: “What a memorable day for Billie - she will always look back on this special moment in her life.

“We can’t wait to see the video of Billie the Drill in action!”

United Utilities, and its contractor Bethell, are installing approximately 4.2 kilometres of new 600mm to 900mm sewer pipe - equivalent to the length of 40 football pitches – and connecting it to an existing trunk main near to the Lea Gate Pumping Station. 

‘Billie’ is tunnelling a new 150-metre tunnel under Savick Brook to house the new sewer pipe. Work began in February this year and is expected to be completed by July 2025.

Lesley Miller added: “During heavy rainfall, the existing sewer system reaches capacity, leading to internal and external flooding to around 14 properties located along Hoyle's Lane.

“The work we are carrying out will alleviate future flooding within the area and provide enough capacity to manage increased sewerage flows from new homes built in Preston in the future.”

While carrying out its work Hoyles Lane in Cottam, the United Utilities site team, which has received a warm welcome from residents, identified and fixed several leaks in service pipes that were unrelated to the current project, improving water pressure for residents in the area.

Lesley Miller said: “Even though the leaks weren’t part of our project, we saw a chance to help the community and took it.

“Liaison with the community has been particularly successful during these essential works and we’d like to extend our thanks for the cooperation and support shown to our team by residents of Hoyles Lane and the surrounding area.”