ABOUT 1800 households in the Kirkley area 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 is carrying out the work which will see new leak-resistant polythene pipes installed.

The pipes being replaced are 'communication pipes', which run from the water main to the boundary of a property. These are the responsibility of the water company, whereas the supply pipe, which runs from the boundary into a property, is the householder's responsibility to maintain or repair.

Customers will be contacted before work begins and an explanatory leaflet will be delivered. The work should be complete by the end of 2013.