MULTI-MILLION pound upgrades to the water system in Aberystwyth are set to be completed by July, with work already completed on updating a water treatment plant in Llanbadarn - responsible for a “disgusting” smell in the village last year.

Dwr Cymru Welsh Water said its £3.4 million plan to upgrade the water network in Aberystwyth is “making great progress”, but that it will now see a series of rolling overnight road closures in Aberystwyth later this month into early May as the company moves into the last phase of the project.

Working with its partners, Morrisons Utilities, Welsh Water is set to replace 353 metres of water mains and cleanse another 26km in and around the town - the equivalent to the length of almost 250 football pitches.

While some roads will close overnight in the town centre between 26 April and 9 May, the company said it will be using “innovative technology during certain parts of the project to replace and cleanse sections of the water main without having to dig up sections of the road.”

The technique “will help minimise disruption and allow the work to be completed much quicker when compared to more traditional methods”, the company said.

The £1.8m upgrade of the water mains follows the £1.6m overhaul at the Cefn Llan Water Treatment Works in Llanbadarn where investigations were launched last year after residents complained of a “genuinely disgusting” sewage smell that meant they couldn’t have their windows open.

They called for the facility to be upgraded.

Since the incident, upgrade works have been carried out at the site, along with the installation of odour monitors.

The company said that the “latest improvements carried out to the water network would help continue providing homes, schools, businesses and customers with a safe, reliable supply of clean drinking water for decades to come.”

Welsh Water’s Project Manager, Jonathan Davies, said: “Our work in Aberystwyth has been progressing well since February.

“We’ve been working hard to keep disruption to a minimum and provide the best results for our customers.

“We appreciate that this kind of work can cause some inconvenience, but we will do all we can to keep this to a minimum and would like to thank people for bearing with us whilst we undertake these essential works.”

Roads around the town centre will be closed in sequence from 26 April to 9 May overnight between 10pm and 6pm to allow Welsh Water to complete the cleansing of the water mains.

Portland Road and Castle Street will be closed from 26 to 30 April; Market Street will be closed 28 April to 1 May; South Road and a section of Gray’s Inn Road from 2 to 7 May; Queen Street from 3 to 8 May; Pen-Maes-Glas, Powell Street and a section of Gray’s Inn Road from 4 to 8 May; and Princess Street and Prospect Street from 5 to 9 May.