Man-made wetland to reduce phosphorus in rivers

Herefordshire's second man-made wetland will be created at the Tarrington waste water treatment works

A £1m scheme to create Herefordshire’s second man-made wetland is due to start in September.

The project - at Tarrington waste water treatment works between Hereford and Ledbury - is intended to enable more building in the county by compensating for water pollution.

The council said developers would buy “phosphate credits” relative to the size of their developments.

The county’s first wetland, at Luston, north of Leominster, has previously been recognised with an environmental award.

A contract to create the second wetland will be awarded in September and the scheme is expected to take just over a year to complete.

The council said the wetland would reduce phosphorus levels in waste water from the treatment works before it drains into the adjacent Tarrington Beck.

Consisting of an upper and lower lagoon, the wetland will also enhance biodiversity and provide carbon storage, the authority said.

A building moratorium since 2019 in much of Herefordshire - caused by the nutrients issue - is thought to have cost the county millions in lost investment which the phosphate credit scheme is now aiming to address.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.