Water centre gets £11m refurb for cleaner rivers

The £11 million project was carried out by Wessex Water at Langport

A water recycling centre has undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment to better filter chemicals from sewage water.

The £11 million project carried out by Wessex Water at Langport over the past 18 months is meant to improve the water quality of the River Parrett and other Somerset waterways.

Project manager Victoria Plummer said: "Chemicals like phosphorus can cause large growths of algae in waterways, damaging plants and animals in those areas by depleting the amount of oxygen in the water."

In the last few years, more than £40 million of similar work to improve treatment methods has been completed or got started across Somerset.

This includes work on sites near Martock, Crewkerne and Merriott, all close to the River Parrett.

In nearby Somerton, more than £5 million was spent to remove chemicals and enhance the water recycling centre to protect the nearby River Cary.

Further north, a £5 million Wessex Water project to build an integrated constructed wetland to naturally remove nutrients is expected to get under way near Shapwick next summer.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently reviewing Ofwat's final determination of Wessex Water's 2025-30 business plan, which has outlined further action to tackle nutrients in the region's waterways.

If fully accepted by the CMA, the plans include investing £820 million in river and coastal water quality by upgrading treatment sites and removing 1,550 tonnes of nutrients from waterways.