Plans for a multi-million pound upgrade of the Haweswater Aqueduct are now available to view online.

United Utilities is undertaking a major revamp of the 109km structure due to the age of the underground pipeline, which has supplied drinking water to people in Cumbria, Lancashire and Greater Manchester for more than 60 years.

Before lockdown, the water company held several public consultation events to showcase its plans and gather feedback but was forced to cancel five others that were due to take place.

It has now created a virtual exhibition to allow people to see the planned route of the works, speak to the project team and share their views online.

Jemma Parkinson, for the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme (HARP), said: “We’re committed to working with and supporting the communities we serve and have developed a comprehensive public consultation programme.

“In March we held several public exhibitions and received some valuable feedback from these events.

"Unfortunately, social distancing guidelines, introduced as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, meant that we had to cancel the final face-to-face exhibitions.

“We’re determined to continue with our public consultation which is why we’ve created virtual exhibitions instead.”

She added that hard copy packs are available for those who don’t have access to the internet.

The Haweswater Aqueduct took 22 years to build and was completed in 1955. It was one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country and remains the backbone of the North West’s water supply.

But inspections in 2014 and 2016 highlighted areas of concern that posed a potential future risk to both water quality and supply. Maintenance work is being carried out to the worst affected areas, including replacing a section of the pipeline, which is due to be completed later this year.

Customers and stakeholders were asked for their views on several proposed solutions and it was indicated a replacement of six tunnel sections along the length of the aqueduct was the preferred option.

To view the plans visit harpconsultation.co.uk or call 0800 298 7040 to request a hard copy.