THAMES Water says it is 'radically re-engineering Wantage’s sewer network' to prepare for unprecedented growth.

The company says it will avoid digging up the town centre and protect the environment by reducing pollution during the work, which aims to increase the capacity of the main sewer through the town centre.

They add that it will construct a new pumping station and sewer to divert wastewater to the north-west of the town.

Wantage and Grove’s population is due to increase dramatically in the coming years.

Mark Yates, Thames Water project manager, said: “Without a rethink, this would potentially mean a huge one-off scheme to upgrade the sewer or repeatedly returning over the years to increase its capacity. Either solution would entail enormous disruption to residents, shop-owners and motorists.

“As well as avoiding chronic disruption in Wantage town centre, we’ve come up with a solution that has reduced the risk of sewer flooding as wastewater flows increase over time. In addition, we’ve saved a significant amount on what it would have cost to increase the size of our trunk sewer, and are providing a major benefit for developers by providing capacity ahead of when they need it.”