Scottish Water has started work on the project, which involves the construction of a new sewer tunnel from the grounds of the former Blawarthill Hospital to the north bank of the Clyde.

The project, which will also involve the construction of a new Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) with powered screens at the former hospital site near Dyke Road and another off Dumbarton Road (A814), will improve water quality on the Yoker Burn culvert and the Clyde and help tackle flooding issues which have affected a commercial property in Dumbarton Road.

The new stretch of sewer, which will be about eight metres deep, will be installed using a specially constructed Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) rather than using the open cut method of excavating because this method will be easier and will minimise disruption.

The new CSO at the former hospital grounds will spill waste water in storm conditions to the new sewer and the new sewer will discharge the waste water to the River Clyde, as permitted by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

Contractors George Leslie, working for Scottish Water, are expected to complete the work in about a year, depending on weather conditions.

The route of the sewer tunnel, which has also been chosen to minimise disruption to local residents and road users, will run from the former hospital grounds, close to Dyke Road, under part of Dumbarton Road and parallel with another part of Dumbarton Road to the Clyde west of the former Scotstoun shipyard.

Mrs Joanna Peebles, Scottish Water’s regional communities team manager, said: “This important project will significantly improve the environment on the Yoker Burn, which is partially culverted, and the Clyde.

“Scottish Water has liaised with all relevant organisations and stakeholders, including Glasgow City Council as the project will include work in part of Yoker Primary School’s grounds and there will be some construction traffic on roads in the area and a small amount of road traffic management required.

“We can assure local residents, businesses and road users that we will do everything possible to minimise any disruption and would stress that any inconvenience will be far out-weighed by the long-term benefits to the local environment that this investment will deliver.”

The project is part of investment of about £10.5m in improvements to our waste water infrastructure in the Yoker area and part of Clydebank, which started in November 2014.

The improvement work in Yoker and Clydebank is part of Scottish Water’s £250m investment in the Greater Glasgow area’s waste water network, the biggest in more than a century, which will improve river water quality and the natural environment of the River Clyde and its tributaries, enable the area to grow and develop, alleviate sewer flooding and deal with the effects of increased rainfall and climate change.

The Greater Glasgow area investment follows years of collaboration and studies by the Metropolitan Glasgow Strategic Drainage Partnership (MGSDP), whose partners include Scottish Water, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), Glasgow City Council and Scottish Canals.

The investment in Yoker and Clydebank will, like many other projects, help achieve the MGSDP’s vision to transform how the Greater Glasgow area thinks about and manages rainfall to end uncontrolled flooding and improve river water quality.