Anglian Water has finished work to improve the water treatment processes in Reepham, near Norwich, in line with new Environment Agency regulations.

The work – which includes increased storm tank capacity and improvements to the amount of wastewater the site can process – will improve water quality in local watercourses, including the River Wensum.

Work began in January and took place entirely on site at Anglian Water’s water recycling centre (WRC) off Norwich Road in Reepham.

The two improvement schemes mark a total investment of more than £1.8 million into water recycling processes at Reepham WRC. Work included an upgraded storm tank and new equipment to strengthen the current water recycling process by allowing the site to process higher volumes of wastewater.

The water company modified existing equipment so Reepham WRC can process higher volumes of wastewater. With high population growth in the area, as well as increased surface water drainage, it is vital that the site is able to keep up with increased flows.

The investment scheme will increase the site’s capacity from 26 to 35 litres per second – preventing flooding on site and improving the site’s resilience to future increased flows as a result of climate change and population growth.

On top of processing increased volumes, the site can also now hold additional storm water to prevent discharges of untreated effluent. The new storm tank at Reepham will help to capture nearly 380,000 litres of storm water during extreme weather and flooding, so it can then be treated before being returned to the nearby water courses.

This builds resilience to extreme weather caused by climate change and protecting the environment by helping to reduce the use of storm overflows, providing additional protection for rivers, many of which in the East of England are unique chalk stream habitats – including the River Wensum, downstream from Reepham.

The storm tank upgrade on site is part of a larger programme of work totalling over £100 million, to increase storm water storage across the East of England. The additional storm water storage will help to capture and redirect more than 72.5 million litres of rainwater – equivalent to 29 Olympic sized swimming pools – to help protect the environment during heavy rainfall.

The upgrades are specifically intended to increase resilience across the East of England, which is likely to see the impacts of the climate emergency – like drought and flooding – more keenly than anywhere else in the UK. The schemes form part of the company’s Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP), a programme of environmental investment which is taking place between 2020-2025.

Anglian’s WINEP totals over £800 million of work which is specifically targeted at protecting the environment and improving river water quality. It is the largest WINEP plan of any water company, with double the number of commitments made and delivered in the previous five-year period.

The project was completed by Anglian Water’s @one Alliance. The seven partner organisations in the @one Alliance deliver complex engineering and construction projects across the Anglian Water region.