Water quality in parts of North Yorkshire is set for a boost after the completion of a £1.5m project.
Northumbrian Water has made the investment in its sewage treatment works at Great Broughton, near Stokesley, increasing the site’s capacity to ensure it continues to serve the community effectively.
The work will also support improvements to the quality of water in Broughton Beck, and ultimately the River Leven into which it flows.
Completion of the work means that the amount of combined wastewater and rainwater that can be treated at the site has increased from seven litres a second to 11.7 litres. This will support its ability to cater for increased volumes of rainwater resulting from climate change.
Delivered by the water company’s partner, Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB), the project also included providing increased storm flow storage, and constructing a new inlet which provides the initial screening of the wastewater that comes into the site. Additional treatment process improvement work will ensure the water is treated to a very high standard before it is returned to the environment.
Ben Gilbert, Northumbrian Water’s Project Manager, said: “This project at Great Broughton is part of our wider investment across our region, to ensure we have the best rivers and coasts in the country.
“Climate change means that we experience more rainfall, while population growth results in higher volumes of sewage being created, so investments like this help us to cater for the increased combined flows that pass through our networks and treatment works.”
While Northumbrian Water’s operating area is largely North of the River Tees, the company has customers and assets in the most northerly parts of North Yorkshire.