A £5.8m project to increase capacity at a County Durham sewage treatment works and help protect river water quality has been completed.
Northumbrian Water has made the investment at Aldin Grange Sewage Treatment Works (STW) at Bearpark, near Durham City.
As well as increasing the site’s capacity with the installation of new treatment plant and settlement tanks, the upgrades include additional equipment to support improvements to the final treated water that is returned to the environment via the River Browney.
This will help protect water quality by reducing the amount of phosphorous in the Browney and watercourses downstream.
Colin Burdon, Northumbrian Water’s Project Manager at Aldin Grange, said: “Here at Aldin Grange, we have expanded the STW to cater for recent population growth in the Bearpark area, and also enhanced our treatment processes, so the site is fit to serve customers and protect the environment now and for the future.”
Aldin Grange is one of seven sites Northumbrian Water is currently investing in as part of a £28m catchment-wide approach to protecting the Browney, which also includes working closely with landowners and other stakeholders to look at a wide range of impacts on the river’s water.
This involves a greater focus on natural solutions that deliver better outcomes to water quality, while also improving biodiversity for the benefit of nature and local communities.
In addition to these end of pipe solutions, Northumbrian Water will work alongside local organisations and land managers to manage pollution from other sources, in an effort to get the river waterbodies to good ecological status.