Yorkshire Water has completed a £16 million upgrade of its water treatment works at Keighley to reduce discolouration of water from peat sources.
The company installed a magnetic ion exchange plant to the site at Sladen Valley, where water from the reservoir is sourced from the local hills including peatland and moorland.
Neil Whitehead, asset planning lead at Yorkshire explained the new technology would remove some of the colour peat adds to the water in Keighley. “The installation will help us to improve and maintain the high standard of drinking water that our customers are used to,” he said.
Environmental factors can influence the quality of water; extra peat at the source would require additional processing at the treatment works, which in turn makes it more energy intensive.
As part of its PR19 determination the company was tasked with a bespoke performance commitment to reduce customer contacts about drinking water quality by 34%. Ofwat allowed the company £51 million to invest in addressing the impact of deteriorating raw water quality.
Earlier this year, Yorkshire rolled out smart water sensors to monitor watercourses in the Yorkshire Dales by capturing data on water quality to inform resource decision making. The company said the approach would cut down the treatment processes required prior to supplying the water to customers.
The company is exploring options for investment in another water treatment works it proposed to upgrade and has begun an environmental impact assessment at Oldfield.
It recently announced accelerated spending for to upgrade water compliance close to the first designated inland bathing site.