Northumbrian Water is getting ready to start work on a £1.9 million project that will help to improve water quality in North Yorkshire watercourses.

Broughton Beck, and ultimately the River Leven into which it flows, will benefit from the investment by the water company into upgrades at its Great Broughton Sewage Treatment Works (STW), near Stokesley, which will increase the capacity of the site.

The project, which will be carried out by the water company’s partners, Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB), will ensure the STW continues to serve the community effectively and support improvements to the water quality in the beck and river.

A new inlet, which provides the initial screening of the wastewater coming into the site, will be installed, along with additional process improvements that support the treatment process, to ensure the final water that is returned to the environment is of a very high standard.

The work, which will run from mid-October until Summer 2025, will increase the amount of combined sewage and rainwater the site can treat from seven litres a second to 13.3 litres.

Ben Gilbert, Project Manager at Northumbrian Water, said:

“This investment is a boost for the local environment, because it makes Great Broughton Sewage Treatment Works more resilient.

“The upgrades mean that the site can cater for higher volumes of rainwater that accompany the area’s sewage through our network and into the works as an impact of climate change, reducing the chances of spills to the beck.

“Our investment at Great Broughton is part of our wider efforts to ensure that, in our operating areas, we have the best rivers and coasts in the country.”