Southern Water’s major redevelopment of its Woolston Wastewater Treatment Works is now well under way - the works, built in 1966, is being replaced with a £63 million state-of-the-art facility.
Senior Project Manager Julie Anne Stokes said:
“This is a huge investment for Southern Water. The end result will be a modern works that will treat wastewater from 62,000 customers in the area to higher-than-ever standards. This is something the Environment Agency has asked us to do to meet new permit conditions – but the quality of treated flows leaving the site and recycled into the River Itchen estuary will actually be much higher than those requirements.”
The delivery team set up on site next to the existing works in September. Since then, the ground has been prepared and foundations are under construction for temporary treatment units, which will ensure flows from the area can still be treated while the old works is demolished.
When built, the site will treat wastewater in three stages – the final stage of which will use the largest system of its kind in the UK. This membrane system will contain pores small enough to filter out bacteria more effectively than conventional treatment methods.
The technology has been used before in the UK but not on this scale for wastewater –the advanced method is why the quality of treated flows will be much higher than the regulations require.
The majority of the permanent treatment units will be built undercover, including an odour control plant – a key part of the project- and a new ventilation system.
One of the project’s main challenges is the size of the site, which is relatively small and cannot be increased.The restrictions mean the new works has to be built within the current site footprint and the project’s logistics must be spot on. Southern Water is building many elements off site and transporting them in as there is no room on site for storage of materials.
With no major delays caused by bad weather to date, the water company is on target to finish building the temporary works this autumn and can then begin work on the permanent site.
Southern Water’s contractor 4Delivery Ltd, a consortium made up of Veolia, Costain and MWH, is carrying out the work - the construction process is expected to take about four years to complete. An employment plan is in place to encourage local contractors and suppliers to get involved.
The Environment Agency’s National Environment Programme had originally specified that flows from Woolston should be transferred to Peel Common Wastewater Treatment Works in Gosport.
The decision was challenged by Ofwat and following an assessment it was agreed that an on-site redevelopment would be the best option.
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