WORK to lay 1.8 kilometres of new water pipes will cause disruption in one of the borough's busiest roads for the next four months.

The £630,000 project in Lea Bridge Road and surrounding residential streets, on the Leyton and Walthamstow border, began at the weekend.

Thames Water are replacing the area's century-old cast iron pipes with "robust" plastic piping to reduce the risk of leaks and flooding.

The company says there will be no road closures, although temporary traffic lights will be in place while contractors work on sections of the road.

Lawrence Gosden, Thames Water’s head of capital delivery, said: “We were asked by the council last week to start this work early as it is due to begin resurfacing works at the end of the month.

“We aim to work with the local authorities where possible to minimise disruption to our customers so we managed to get this work started on Saturday and expect it to take around four months.

“The pipe we are replacing is old and leaky. Not only does this waste water, it also inconveniences people when we have to dig up the road and do repairs.

“While we apologise for the inevitable disruption work of this nature causes, replacing old and leaking mains is essential as our water resources come under increasing pressure from climate change and population growth.

“Ideally we wouldn’t have to do this work at all but the fact is London’s water pipes are old and leaky and need replacing. We are doing everything we can to keep disruption to a minimum.”

The water supplies of some residents may be affected but the company has said they will be notified in advance.

Once the work in Lea Bridge Road is complete, mains replacements will then be carried out in Elm Park Road, Perth Road, Kettlebaston Road, Bloxhall Road, Morieux Road, Seymour Road and Clementina Road.

A drop-in session for anyone wanting more information is being held at 137 Clementina Road, Leyton, between 4.30pm and 6pm on Thursday, August 25.

Click here to follow the Waltham Forest Guardian on Twitter