Yorkshire Water investing £3m in Leyburn wastewater treatment works

Yorkshire Water is investing £3m at its Leyburn wastewater treatment site in North Yorkshire to improve water quality in the river Ure. 

Delivered by contract partners Mott MacDonald Bentley, the project will reduce the amount of phosphorus present in the wastewater being returned to the river environment after treatment.  

The scheme includes the installation of single point ferric dosing, a type of chemical dosing for wastewater treatment, which will reduce the amount of phosphorus entering the river Ure. The existing sludge tank – a specialized storage tank for the solids removed during the treatment process – will also be renewed. The project is expected to complete in spring 2026. 

Farina Iltaf, project manager at Yorkshire Water said; “We’re embarking on our largest ever environmental investment – of which phosphorous reduction forms an important part. The project at Leyburn is one of 13 that we’ll be completing this year, and one of 45 that we will complete by 2030.  

“We know how much the environment matters to our customers, and reducing the levels of phosphorous in our treated wastewater is one way in which we can do our bit to improve the health of our rivers. We will also be investing significantly over the next five years to reduce the frequency and duration of storm overflow discharges into the Ure.” 

Phosphorus is a normal part of domestic sewage and is present in shampoos and liquid detergents. It can also wash off agricultural fields after the use of fertilisers and be dissolved from soil, which can be difficult to control. 

While a small amount of phosphorus is harmless and is an essential part of many ecosystems, it can become damaging to human and animal life when unmanaged. 

The project is part of a £350m investment at 85 wastewater treatment sites across the region to reduce Phosphorus over the next five years. It follows a £500m investment in phosphorous removal over the previous five-year delivery period, which saw the amount of phosphorous in treated wastewater decrease by 68%. 

Yorkshire Water is also planning to invest millions of pounds in 14 storm overflows on the Ure in the next five years as part of its £1.5bn programme to reduce discharges into watercourses across the region. 

Nearby, Yorkshire Water is working on a number of additional projects, including the building of a £6m new service reservoir in Hunton to increase resilience of the local drinking water network.