A £1.7 million project to improve water quality in an East Renfrewshire town will get underway next week. 

Work will begin in North Park Avenue, Barrhead, on Monday as engineers bid to prevent items wrongly flushed down the toilet from overflowing into the nearby Levern Water. 

It involves the installation of a new underground Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) chamber with screens, as well as upgraded pipework and a new concrete headwall.

Ruaridh MacGregor, Scottish Water’s corporate affairs manager, said: “Our work here is vital to help improve the local environment and this popular spot for locals in Barrhead.

“We want to reassure everyone that we’ll do all we can to keep any disruption to a minimum and would like to thank local residents for working with us during the planning stages. It really has been invaluable in helping to inform our plans.”

Barrhead councillor Danny Devlin said: “I am pleased that Scottish Water took on board feedback from the local community about this project and it is good to see that the work is commencing given its benefits for the environment.”

The project is expected to take around six months for completion.