A £5 million project is being proposed to protect one of England’s most important landscapes.
Wessex Water, along with partner YTL Construction, will use natural methods to reduce harmful nutrients found in river water.
The ambitious proposals will create new wetland habitats as an Integrated Constructed Wetland on the Somerset Levels and Moors, which are internationally protected.
Wessex Water owns the land, measuring just over 25 hectares, next to an existing nature reserve near Glastonbury.
The project will see the creation of an Integrated Constructed Wetland and a new grassland site, which will become a wildlife haven run by the Hawk and Owl Trust.
The new wetland aims to reduce the concentration and impact of nutrients in agricultural run-off, the flow of which would travel through the wetland system, using natural physical, chemical, and biological processes to treat and improve water quality.
Nutrients –from agricultural fertilisers, farm slurries, septic tank discharges and domestic wastewater – can cause large growths of algae and floating plants, such as duckweed, in slow-moving watercourses like those in the Somerset Levels and Moors.
These can damage plants and animals through a variety of effects, including oxygen depletion – a process known as eutrophication.
Unlike typical treatment wetlands, Integrated Constructed Wetlands can appear as very naturalised systems as they are designed to integrate into the surrounding environment. They provide additional benefits such as water flow regulation, enhanced biodiversity and wildlife habitats, as well as recreation space.
Such wetlands are being increasingly explored as alternatives to treat a variety of water sources such as farm runoff, wastewater or, as in this case, river water.
The proposals are being scrutinised by Somerset Council planners and, if successful, the six-month construction project would get under way in the summer of 2026.
Wessex Water Senior Environmental Scientist, Lorraine Isgar said: “We’re committed to working with partners to explore options for natural treatments to improve the quality of water in our rivers and streams and this exciting project would test their effectiveness.
“This Integrated Constructed Wetland aims to reduce nutrients, in particular phosphorus, before reaching the local watercourse that feeds the Catcott, Eddington and Chilton Moors Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), part of the wider Somerset Levels and Moors, as well as provide additional benefits to wildlife and people.
“The proposed 13-hectare wetland system will divert flows from the Kent Drove Ditch to pass through the newly created wetland habitat, which will be planted with native plants before returning to Mill Brook to the north-west of the field.
“The material from the excavation of the wetland will be used to create 12 hectares of low-nutrient grassland on an adjacent field to the wetland field to further enhance biodiversity and connect the site to the existing Hawk and Owl Trust Shapwick nature reserve.”
Wessex Water has already carried out work to enhance the biodiversity value of the wetlands and surrounding land around Durleigh Reservoir, in Somerset.
The Durleigh reservoir wetlands were created on areas of two fields previously used for arable farming and has included the creation of ponds and woodland.
The company is proposing to invest more than £1.1 billion to improve water quality with the removal of 1,550 tonnes of nutrients in waterways as part of its business proposals between now and 2030 – and has asked the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to review how much it can invest in vital water and sewerage improvements over the next five years.
This comes after the industry regulator Ofwat’s final determination on Wessex Water’s five-year business plan allowed for £4.2 billion of total expenditure – 17 per cent short of what the company’s own calculations have shown are required to meet its obligations and customers’ expectations, and support growth in the region.
