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32-610: It forms part of the mine drainage system that is responsible for draining Ogof Hesp Alyn and leaving much of the River Alyn between Loggerheads and Rhydymwyn dry during summer months. The first phase of the tunnel was driven by the Holywell-Halkyn Mining and Tunnel Company, a consortium of local mines, under the supervision of engineer Nathaniel R. Griffith of Wrexham . The Company was formed in 1896, its Secretary and Manager being John Philip Jones, and its directors listed as

64-531: A 54% increase in its sewage discharge compared with 2022. On the evening of 28 February 2024 until the morning of 29 February, United Utilities pumped almost 10 million litres (2.2 million imperial gallons) of raw sewage illegally into the middle of Windermere, after pumps at the pumping station in Bowness malfunctioned. The company failed to report this to the Environment Agency until 13 hours after

96-797: A burst water main cut 15,000 customers in Moreton, Leasowe and Wallasey off water for 3 days. In November 2019, a burst pipe in a local treatment works disrupted water supply in the CH 41/42/43/63 areas and bottled water supply points were set up. On 7 August 2015, cryptosporidium , a water-borne parasite that can cause diarrhoea and vomiting, had been detected in the water supply to Blackpool , Chorley , Fylde , Preston , South Ribble and Wyre affecting more than 300,000 customers. No cases of cryptosporidiosis were reported and by introducing of ultra-violet treatment units "boil water" notices could be lifted in some areas. Initial investigations by United Utilities and

128-498: A joint venture between funds run by Colonial First State and JPMorgan Chase . Electricity North West became the licensed Distribution Network Operator for the north west of England as a result. United Utilities operated and maintained the regional electricity network on behalf of Electricity North West until 2010, when Electricity North West bought the electricity network operations and maintenance arm from United Utilities to establish one Group. In October 2011, United Utilities

160-483: A number of seminars following this event to outline steps it had taken following the incident and share lessons with other water companies. In 2023, it was reported that an area of council land in Stockport that had been earmarked for development into amenity woodland had been so contaminated by sewage discharge that it was unsafe to proceed and the plans had to be dropped. The same report noted that United Utilities were

192-516: A point 9 feet below high water mark on the Dee foreshore, where self-acting flood doors were fitted. It was driven at a gradient of 1:1000, initially brick lined where it passed through coal measures and shale , and unlined after the first 1.5 miles where it passed through chert and limestone , successively reaching the Pen-yr-Hwylfa, Dolphin, Drill, Coronation and Caeau veins; a branch tunnel accessed

224-496: A rising prior to the lowering of local water levels by mine drainage. As drainage only took place in the early 20th century, Ogof Hesp Alyn provides a valuable opportunity to study a cave system developed almost entirely by a phreatic processes which remains largely unmodified by vadose streams. Despite the drainage that now occurs down to the Milwr Tunnel which is several hundred feet below, during periods of intense wet weather

256-566: Is the United Kingdom's largest listed water company . It was founded in 1995 as a result of the merger of North West Water and NORWEB . The group manages the regulated water and waste water network in North West England , which includes Cumbria , Greater Manchester , Lancashire , Merseyside , most of Cheshire and a small area of Derbyshire , which have a combined population of more than seven million. The United Utilities Group

288-605: The Drinking Water Inspectorate had not identified the cause. Later the root cause was identified as run-off water from agricultural land following severe rainfall. On 6 September 2015, the water supply was declared free from contamination, and restrictions were lifted. United Utilities was subsequently fined £300,000 at Preston Crown Court on 10 October 2017 for supplying water unfit for human consumption, with an additional £150,000 costs. It paid around £18 million in compensation to its customers. United Utilities held

320-474: The Lake District , received sewage from storm overflows for 246 days that year. It was reported in figures submitted to the Environment Agency by the water industry that in the following year, 2023, over 33% of United Utilities outflows discharged raw sewage 60 times or more into waterways, and over the course of the year United Utilities discharged sewage into waterways for a total of 656,014 hours, representing

352-780: The New York Stock Exchange , but delisted its shares in May 2007. In 2000, the North West Water and NORWEB branding was phased out in favour of United Utilities, the rebranding was completed by the end of 2001. The company sold some of the businesses it had acquired, its telecoms business, Your Communications was sold in February 2006, and Vertex in March 2007. In December 2007, United Utilities sold its electricity distribution network assets to North West Electricity Networks (Jersey) Limited,

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384-711: The Holywell Boat Level. Following takeover by the Halkyn District United Mines Ltd in 1928, the tunnel was progressively extended, reaching Olwyn Goch in 1931 and intersecting several valuable and productive new veins. Low lead prices in 1938 caused the majority of the workforce to be temporarily laid off, but Pilkington's Glass began using the tunnel to excavate high-quality limestone from 1939; this quarrying continued until 1969, creating large artificial caverns west of Olwyn Goch. Lead mining commenced again in earnest in 1948 after ore prices climbed, and

416-493: The Hon. C. T. Parker, H. A. Cope, J. B. Feilding, T. Snape, John Brock, Henry Taylor, and Eustace Carey. The mines involved hoped that the construction of the tunnel, by allowing them to work rich seams of ore at depth without incurring high pumping costs, would enable them to meet their low-cost international competition head-on. Tunnelling was commenced in July 1897 at Boot End, Bagillt, from

448-518: The North West. In May 2016, the Competition & Markets Authority granted United Utilities and Severn Trent Water approval to create a new joint venture company in preparation for the water market deregulation. In June 2016, United Utilities and Severn Trent Water formed Water Plus , in readiness to provide the retail services for their non-household customers. In May 2019, the company announced

480-602: The Northeast Chambers, the Mousetrap series and the Wormway, which gets its name from the numerous worms that live in the sediment. Much of the cave is wet and muddy, with the entrance series setting the theme for what is to come later on. With more recent discoveries, the length of cave passage totals 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) extending over a vertical range of about 90 metres (300 ft). The entrance would have functioned as

512-545: The Old Milwr vein. In 1908 driving stopped 2 miles from the portal at Caeau Mine, the limit of the company's mineral rights, at which time the tunnel was draining some 1.7 million gallons of water per day through the drainage channel cut in its floor. Objections to further work had been raised in Parliament and by residents of Holywell , who feared that the proposed drainage would affect their water supply, and particularly that of

544-507: The UK. The Milwr Tunnel was purchased by Welsh Water in 1992 in order to supply water to industry; as of 1997 it still discharges an average of 23 million gallons of water per day. The tunnel is currently maintained by United Utilities . Although a complete trip through to the portal is no longer possible due to roof falls and consequent flooding in the lower sections, occasional access is permitted to cavers and mine explorers, who have mapped many of

576-819: The appointment of David Higgins as a non-executive director and to succeed Dr John McAdam as chairman. In April 2022, Louise Beardmore appointed chief executive at United Utilities. As a result, 5 of the 6 top positions in UK water companies listed on the FTSE were held by women. United Utilities currently supplies water to a population of 7.3 million people across the North West. The company also manages 78,000 kilometres of wastewater pipes which take sewage from 7.3 million people for treatment at nearly 600 wastewater treatment works. It also operates 37 renewable energy facilities. United Utilities owns some 166 water supply reservoirs, various river and stream intakes, as well as lake abstractions and numerous groundwater sources, to supply

608-605: The cave can fill completely with water. This is quite rare but any visitor should take care. When the water level recedes, the 'Sand Crawl' can still remain a sump for weeks later. It lies close to another cave, Ogof Hen Ffynhonnau , which lies about 150 metres (160 yd) further upstream in the Alyn Gorge. These two caves with Ogof Nadolig form the caves part of the Alyn Valley Woods and Alyn Gorge Caves SSSI . United Utilities United Utilities Group plc (UU)

640-517: The end of the cave is a serious commitment involving 24 pitches and the draining of two sumps. The proliferation of short, awkward and muddy pitches appear best suited to be tackled by wire ladders, but in the 1980s a team of divers from the Wessex Caving Club who passed the sumps, concluded that single rope technique was preferable, avoiding the need for excessive numbers of people to carry the equipment. A perpetual siphon has since been used at

672-502: The famous St Winefride's Well . Supporters of the Milwr and District Mines Drainage Bill pointed out that mining had already been carried out in the area without substantial disruption to the area's water supply. However, legal changes passed in 1913 allowed the HMTC to continue driving the tunnel, at rates of up to 45 feet weekly, to a point beneath Halkyn Mountain by 1919. At 6am on 5 January 1917,

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704-415: The first sump which does a good job of keeping the water level relatively low, when working properly. A BCRA grade 5b survey of the cave exists that was created by North Wales Caving Club in two phases, in periods during the original 70s exploration, and further exploration beyond the sumps in the 80s. As well as the main passage that meanders through the cave there are several interesting detours including

736-470: The old workings. Some abandoned mining equipment and several miles of the tunnel's railway system remain in-situ. 53°13′12″N 3°10′27″W  /  53.2200°N 3.1743°W  / 53.2200; -3.1743 Ogof Hesp Alyn Ogof Hesp Alyn ( Welsh for: Dry Alyn Cave ) was discovered by North Wales Caving Club in 1973 in the Alyn Gorge near Cilcain , Flintshire , Wales . Reaching

768-488: The region is soft to very soft. In 1989 the North West Water Authority, which was responsible for the provision of water to the North West of England, was privatised and became North West Water Group plc. In 1995, the company acquired NORWEB plc, the then regional electricity distributor and supplier, and on 1 April 1996 changed its name to United Utilities plc. In January 1998, United Utilities listed on

800-577: The region. Some reservoirs operated by the company are outside the North West such as the Longdendale Chain in Derbyshire , which were constructed by the Manchester Corporation in the 19th century, and remain networked to the North West's water supply. The principal reservoirs are as follows: Cumbria Cheshire Derbyshire Greater Manchester Lancashire In May 2010,

832-468: The remarkable Powell's Lode Cavern on the Rhosesmor branch tunnel. This is a natural passage at least 110 metres (361 feet) from top to bottom, at least 60 metres of which is flooded by a natural lake (the full depth of the lake was never measured, and large amounts of mining debris dumped into it have since reduced its depth to 42 metres). The cavern can therefore claim to be the highest such natural cavern in

864-513: The tunnel broke into a "loch", or flooded cavern, at the intersection of the Pant Lode: 10,000 gallons of water a minute flowed into the tunnel, sweeping away trucks and seriously hampering work for some weeks. 11 hours later St Winefride's Well, where water from the Halkyn Mountain system had resurged several miles away, ran dry as the water table fell. Water was eventually restored to the well via

896-422: The tunnel to supply water to its factory at Holywell. Lead mining was still carried out sporadically from existing veins until 1977, and maintenance work continued until 1987, when the tunnel finally closed. During its period of operation the tunnel had produced around 200,000 tons of lead ore and 80,000 tons of zinc ore. The tunnel system intersects with many mines as well as several natural cave systems, including

928-466: The tunnel was driven further south through several new lodes, in 1957 reaching a point at lode 477, the Cathole Vein, at which large quantities of sand and clay were being forced into the tunnel: no further extension was made beyond this point. In 1962, the Holywell-Halkyn Mining and Tunnel Co. Ltd, together with Halkyn District United Mines Ltd, became subsidiaries of Courtaulds , which wished to maintain

960-541: The worst-polluting water company in the UK in 2022, with "10 of the country’s 20 pipes that spilled the most sewage in 2022 [being] owned by United Utilities", and that they had discharged raw sewage into the River Ellen in Cumbria for almost 7,000 hours that year. The Environment Agency stated that United Utilities released raw sewage into rivers for over 425,491 hours in 2022, and that England's largest lake, Windermere in

992-527: Was selected as the preferred bidder by Severn Trent Water to purchase the Lake Vyrnwy estate for £11 million. United Utilities later withdrew from the bidding process. In February 2012, United Utilities proposed a national water pipeline linking water sources in Manchester to London. In April 2016, United Utilities received an 18-year loan of £500m from The European Investment Bank to support investment across

Milwr Tunnel - Misplaced Pages Continue

1024-663: Was the electricity distribution network operator for the North West until 2010, when its electricity subsidiary was sold to Electricity North West . United Utilities' headquarters are in Warrington , England, and the company has more than 5,000 direct employees. Its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and it is a constituent the FTSE 100 Index . North West England is the wettest region in England, and water hardness across

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