Scottish Water has completed work on a £3.4 million flood protection scheme in Tarbet, Argyll and Bute.

The successful delivery of this improvement project, which began in August 2020, has increased the capacity of the local sewer network to help tackle historic flooding issues.

The work involved the installation of 350 metres of upsized sewer pipe and large diameter sewers along Barmore Road, Harbour Street, and a short section of School Road.

Two existing Thomas Telford dry stone culvert crossings had to be negotiated during the works. Beams were constructed over these culverts to support the traffic while protecting their structural integrity. Seven-metre-deep piles were installed to help support these beams.

These major upgrades will also now help prevent items which are wrongly flushed down the toilet, such as wet wipes, from ending up in the sea during severe storm events.

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Georgina Reid, Scottish Water's corporate affairs manager for the west, said: "There were a few issues which had historically contributed to the flooding in this area.

"The tidal surge, surface water running down the steep hill, and insufficient existing hydraulic capacity on the sewer network, meant that action had to be taken.

"Any sewer flooding causes a great deal of distress for communities, and so it really is great that the increased capacity of the sewer network here will now help reduce that risk."

Scottish Water and its alliance partner at the time, amey, Black and Veatch, (aBV), recognised that the project would have a significant impact on the village while these essential works were completed.

The project team worked hard to build a good relationship with the community, residents and businesses to ensure the village remained vibrant and bustling and any disruption was kept to a minimum.

Georgina added: "We would like to thank the whole community for their patience, understanding, and support, working with us to allow the successful delivery this project on time. They took it all in their stride.

"The engagement with schools, community council and local councillors has been an extremely positive example of ensuring our customers are at the heart of what we do."

Thanking everyone involved, Councillor Anne Horn said: "The work in Tarbert was carried out professionally, efficiently and, when required, compassionately. We are grateful to all the teams who carried out this major work. They kept us updated and made every effort to keep disruption to a minimum where possible. Thanks again to everyone involved."

A small number of remedial works, including road markings being painted and the installation of a flower bed, will be completed in the coming weeks.