Treatment and Technology

Cleaner waters for Manchester Ship Canal as major upgrade reaches next phase

The latest phase of a multi-million-pound project to improve water quality in Manchester Ship Canal has reached a major construction milestone. United Utilities has made significant upgrades to its Warrington South wastewater treatment facility to improve the quality of the...

Modern wastewater infrastructure for Drumahoe

NI Water has completed the construction of a state-of-the-art wastewater pumping station in the village of Drumahoe, Londonderry, to serve the growing community and provide environmental protection to the River Faughan. The new facility – costing over £1million - replaces...

Building on the UK’s first micropollutant removal plants to tackle PFAS

Howard Marles sets out how Curio Water’s new BlueBarrier™ treatment train has built on the lessons of the UK’s first micropollutant removal plants to offer a solution to PFAS removal. Two years ago, we wrote in this journal about the...

New wastewater treatment process to ‘improve efficiency and cut emissions’

Field trials have begun on a new wastewater treatment process that could improve efficiency while cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers at The James Hutton Institute, Scotland’s top interdisciplinary research institute for sustainable land, crop and nature management, are carrying out...

Efforts stepped up to improve water quality at ‘poor’ London bathing spot

Thames Water has invested more than £4 million in ultraviolet light (UV) treatment technology at its Cassington sewage treatment works after extensive investigations indicate no single source is solely responsible for Wolvercote Mill Stream’s poor bathing water classification. Thames Water,...

Boost for Bath as sewage upgrade crosses finishing line

A £35 million upgrade at a sewage treatment site serving more than 100,000 customers is now complete. The two-year project at the water recycling centre in the village of Saltford was designed and delivered by Wessex Water’s sister company YTL...

Shoreham Waste Water Treatment Works

Southern Water engaged Selwood and Siltbuster to support a programme of planned maintenance and repair works on key assets at the treatment works. The challenge Extremely restricted site footprint, limiting plant placement and access. Complex hydraulic arrangement due to split...

Anglian Water tech ‘centre stage’ in world-class WWT upgrade

Wastewater digestion technology originally developed by Anglian Water is set to play a central role in one of the largest wastewater treatment upgrades in the world. The Helea sludge digestion technology has been selected by Brazilian water and waste management...

Breaking the Bottleneck: What the Planning and Infrastructure Act means for water projects

Christy Greves MRICS, Associate Director at specialist land and environment consultancy Dalcour Maclaren, examines what the Planning and Infrastructure Act could mean for specialists planning and delivering major water infrastructure projects. The Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Act is designed to...

Rethinking wastewater capacity

With a growing number of housing developments held up by concerns over outdated and strained wastewater infrastructure, water companies must look beyond building new channels to increase flow capacity. Simon Light, Wilo UK, highlights the importance of screening in...

South East Water’s Resilience Plan: progress update

South East Water is improving the resilience of its water supply network which serves 2.3 million customers across Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire. The upgrades will deliver additional capacity and water quality protection, improving the water supply to over...

Research results assist biomedia selection

Recent research projects have helped determine the impact that filter media design has on the performance of wastewater treatment processes such as traditional trickling filters, SAF, MBBR and IFAS. Mark Barrett, Warden Biomedia, reviews the results. One of our...

A sustainable solution to a carbon-intensive foundry application

When a manufacturer of resin sand mixers was facing concerns over the efficiency and environmental impact of its equipment, they turned to global dosing systems specialist SEKO for a dedicated solution. Within the foundry industry, resin-coated sand has for many...

Unlocking your plant potential

Tribal knowledge has long been the cornerstone of operations for water and wastewater treatment plants – but your most valuable resource might be hiding in plain sight, says Dave Rutowski, Aquatic Informatics. Treatment plants have relied on experienced operators with...

Solution to pollution: Why a holistic, catchment‑wide strategy is essential for the future of the UK water industry

The UK water industry is facing a defining moment. Mounting public pressure, increasing regulatory scrutiny and the growing impacts of climate change have converged to create an urgent need for transformation. Pollution incidents, storm overflow spills and deteriorating asset...

How IoT is transforming water treatment

As the world’s most precious and essential resource, water is vital for health, sanitation, industry, the environment and many other critical aspects of our lives. Therefore, the global demand for water is astronomical, dominated by the agriculture sector which uses...

Aeration optimisation for enhanced activated sludge performance

With real-time visibility into aeration performance in an activated sludge plant – wastewater treatment operators gain more precise control, lower energy consumption, and greater overall reliability. Rugged sensors, wastewater-specific calibrations, modular design and integrated process intelligence, provide a reliable...

Technology’s role in tackling water system challenges

Water utilities need technologies that provide smarter and more resilient ways to manage water and wastewater, says Duncan Leathley, Water Utilities Division, Grundfos. Water networks around the world face increasing pressures as climate change drives extreme weather, with rapid urbanisation...

Yorkshire Water completes Dewsbury WwTW upgrade

An £18m phosphorus removal programme has been completed at Dewsbury Wastewater Treatment Works. The work, carried out by Yorkshire Water in partnership with BarhaleEnpure JV, will help improve water quality in the River Calder. The scheme has achieved a 90% reduction...

Filter screening capacity tripled at Scottish treatment works

Tyndrum Wastewater Treatment Works, in Stirlingshire, has upgraded its process screening capacity by installing upgrades capable of handling more than triple its original volume. The project, which took the site’s capacity from 3.2 litres per second (L/s) up to a...

From sewage to ‘sugar’ – United Utilities achieves UK first

United Utilities has achieved a UK first at Blackburn Wastewater Treatment Works by successfully trialling a groundbreaking technology to extract naturally occurring glucose from sewage. The process captures toilet paper from untreated sewage and breaks it down into a glucose...

Waste autopsy reveals scale of sewer blockage challenge

Thames Water Utilities and the Port of London Authority have collaborated on a recent waste autopsy in an area of the capital now known as ‘wet wipe Island’. Research Centre (WRc) which examined 30 kg of the 114 tonnes of...

Bluey and Bandit sniff out hidden pollution

Cocker spaniel brothers Bluey and Bandit are giving Wessex Water a helping paw in the quest to tackle sewer connections. The dogs belong to the company’s award-winning canine unit, using their renowned sense of smell to prevent wastewater entering watercourses...

A wastewater treatment solution for a critical airport application

When a leading utilities and services provider was commissioned to create an environmentally critical application for one of the world’s busiest airports, they collaborated with water-treatment expert SEKO for a failsafe solution. The European airport handles in excess of 80...

Green Recovery Programme invests in nature-based upgrades at treatment works

Severn Trent has completed sustainable upgrades at Hungarton sewage treatment works in Leicestershire. The £2.4 million project is part of Severn Trent’s Green Recovery programme. To comply with new standards set out in the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP), the...

Norfolk water recycling centre gets major upgrade

Anglian Water has installed specialist wastewater treatment equipment in a major water recycling centre (WRC) upgrade. The work was needed to ensure dry weather flow remained compliant at Horning Knackers Wood WRC in Norfolk. River flooding and groundwater infiltration into the...

New wastewater technologies to be tried and tested

A pilot plant to assess the best combination of technologies for micropollutant removal from wastewater is due to start operating at Cranfield University. The plant – a first for the UK – comes as UK water companies seek to invest...

Over 80,000 plants bring natural water treatment system to life

A new integrated constructed wetland (ICW) to further treat wastewater has been completed at Staplefield Wastewater Treatment Works in West Sussex. More than 80,000 native wetland plants, shrubs and trees have been planted on the wetland as part of a...

Vital anti-flood upgrades for water recycling centre

Anglian Water’s @one Alliance has completed important upgrades to a water recycling centre (WRC) in Towcester to help protect the environment from flooding and support regional expansion. Located in a rapidly growing region, Towcester’s WRC supports the community by treating...

New UK REACH compliance enters crucial registration phase for water companies

The UK REACH compliance process for ozone use has progressed to the substance registration phase. Curio Water is assisting UK water companies with the preparation and submission of their registration dossiers. Since the establishment of UK REACH on 1 January 2021,...