About 1,800 households in the Kirkley area of Lowestoft should see the quality of their drinking water improve over the next five years under a �4.5m programme to replace ageing lead pipes

Essex and Suffolk Water will trial an innovative technique to replace the 'communication' pipes that connect water mains to the boundary of a property.

Instead of using a traditional thrust boring method, workers will use the new Kobus Pipe Puller method. The company says the work requires smaller excavations, can be quicker and more efficient, and also removes the old lead pipe from the ground. It has proven particularly useful at minimising traffic disruption when a pipe needs replacement under busy roads.

Brian Olley, distribution manager for Essex & Suffolk Water, said: 'The old lead pipe has served customers well but it is now recognised, as drinking water standards are improved, it is better replaced by modern polyethylene pipe to reduce potential lead content in water. The new pipes are also less likely to burst and leak.'