A £77 million (€93 million) project to upgrade Burnley Wastewater Treatment Works in the UK is nearing completion.
As part of its commitment to improving river quality, United Utilities has carried out a major upgrade at the treatment works. The project which began in 2021 will play an important role in improving water quality in the River Calder which is a tributary of the River Ribble.
The upgrade will enable the facility to meet growing demand from Burnley and surrounding towns by increasing capacity by 27%. The increase in capacity and the introduction of more storm water storage will reduce the number of times that storm overflows operate in periods of heavy rain.
Construction work has now been completed and the focus is now on testing and commissioning the new equipment.
Rob Moore, head of wastewater for United Utilities in Lancashire explained: “This project has transformed Burnley Wastewater Treatment Works.
“We know our customers want to see cleaner rivers and fewer occasions when untreated sewage is released into the environment. This upgrade will play an important role in delivering that. It means we can now treat sewage more quickly, we can store more sewage in times of heavy rainfall, and we’ve upgraded the treatment process so that the treated water that is released back into the River Calder is even cleaner.”
Improvements to the treatment process include the introduction of a new technology which enhances the biological treatment processes, removing more nutrients and improving the quality of the final effluent.
Major upgrade at WWTP nears completion
