Northumbrian Water has announced plans to spend £15.8 million to boost water quality in the River Skerne by upgrading five treatment sites in Durham.
Work being carried out at four of the wastewater plants is to meet requirements of the water industry national environment programme (WINEP) to remove phosphorus.
The company will spend more than £10 million at Ferryhill, Fishburn, Bishop Middleham and Sedgefield as part of its WINEP, which forms the bulk of environmental spending across the industry.
David Groark, Northumbrian’s project manager, said: “This investment of more than £15 million will help to protect the local water environment in the County Durham and Darlington area by making our treatment processes even better.”
At Bishopston treatment works, upgrades include a new package inlet and telemetry devices were added.
The projects are designed to enhance the performance of the treatment works, as well as the quality of the final effluent that is returned to the environment. The company said this would boost the resilience of its wastewater services across the area.
To remove phosphorous from effluent, Northumbrian will install chemical dosing for ferric sulphate and sodium hydroxide. This will enable the sites to meet the revised phosphorous discharge consent of 0.2 mg/l, which will apply from December 2024.
Phosphorous enters waterways from various sources including fertiliser, animal waste, agricultural and urban runoff, as well as sewage.
At its Bishop Middleham and Bishopton sites, upgrades will complete early next year and the works at the other locations expected to finish in the autumn.