£16.8 million investment to strengthen water quality and resilience at Haisthorpe (1)

Yorkshire Water is investing £16.8m at Haisthorpe Water Treatment Works, to create a nitrate removal plant that will enhance the reliable, sustainable, high quality drinking water provided to customers across East Yorkshire.

Contract partners Mott MacDonald Bentley started work this week to install a nitrate removal plant and associated works, at Haisthorpe to improve the quality of water provided to customers in the area.

Tom Charlesworth, project manager for Yorkshire Water, said: “This work forms part of our commitment to meet enhanced drinking water and supply regulations.  Monitoring over the last decade has shown a rise in nitrate levels in raw water drawn from a number of local boreholes. This is blended to ensure compliance with the strict limits required to supply safe drinking water.

“The new nitrate removal plant, allows us to deliver a future-proofed solution, installed and commissioned in line with changes to water quality in readiness for the 30 September 2027 compliance date set by the DWI.”

Boreholes are used to extract water from deep underground, where it is naturally filtered through soil and rock, requiring minimal treatment before it is safe to use. Boreholes are a vital part of Yorkshire Water’s strategy for maintaining supply in the long-term – and will help to build resilience into its network and reduce the likelihood of water shortages going forward.

Raw water at Haisthorpe is fed from three boreholes and the new plant will provide blending capacity and additional treatment required to maintain to manage rises in nitrate levels and ensure full compliance and a secure clean water supply for customers.

This work is part of Yorkshire Water’s water resources management plan to help ensure there is sufficient water to meet Yorkshire’s customer demands in the future.