A £26m sewage treatment plant near Brean was opened by Wessex Water on Monday (April 29th).
A plaque to mark the occasion was unveiled by MP John Penrose and Wessex Water Chairman Colin Skellett, as pictured here.
The improvements to the Weston treatment plant will ensure the site is able to cope with increased numbers of customers and improve bathing water quality at Weston and Uphill.
David Elliott, director of environment at Wessex Water, said: “We have increased capacity so we can store and treat more stormwater, which will reduce the impact this can have on river and sea water quality during periods of intense rainfall.”
“Our work at the sewage treatment works has been completed two years ahead of the new EU bathing water standards being introduced and will significantly contribute to safeguarding water quality at beaches in Weston.”
As part of the improvements, Wessex Water has also built four new tanks that can hold 21,000 cubic metres of water – the equivalent of 8.5 Olympic size swimming pools – which will increase the amount of wastewater that can be treated during periods of intense rainfall and reduce the likelihood of emergency discharge from the overflow near Black Rock besides Brean Down.
Secondary treatment and ultraviolet disinfection capacity has been improved which will also reduce levels of bacteria in treated wastewater.
Burnham-On-Sea.com reported here how residents in Brean were angry that work to build the plant would create months of traffic disruption, generate noise and also adversely impact the visual appearance of the area.
