£19m investment underway at Wombwell to protect river Dove

Work is underway at Yorkshire Water’s Wombwell wastewater treatment works, off Ings Road, Barnsley to install a new Phosphorus removal solution to improve water quality in the river Dove.

Yorkshire Water is investing £19m on an innovative removal system, including specialist chemicals and helpful bacteria to reduce the amount of Phosphorus in treated wastewater before it is safely returned to the environment.

Phosphorus is a normal part of domestic wastewater, entering the sewer network via domestic showers and washing machines via products such as shampoo and liquid detergents.  It can also wash off from 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.  Additionally, too much Phosphorus in our waterways can cause a proliferation of algae, which can block out sunlight and be harmful for other plants, and a range of water-based life.

Lindsey Philips, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “We’re working with our contract partners, Ward & Burke, on this Phosphorus removal project to help us improve the health and water quality of our rivers, which us important to us and to our customers.”

The project includes a secondary ferric dosing unit and tertiary solids removal unit (TSR) using Blue-water bio filter clear technology. This is new technology for Yorkshire Water, introduced as a future-proof solution, capable of meeting increasingly stringent environmental standards and able to support future growth. 

The investment also includes return activated pumps, primary settlement tank to increase capacity of the wastewater treatment as well as a new storm overflow tank creating additional storage capacity to allow for the safe treatment of wastewater during periods of heavy or prolonged rainfall. This project is due for completion early 2029 and has been designed to accommodate the growing population of Wombwell and the surrounding area.

The Wombwell upgrade is part of Yorkshire Water’s £2bn investment on its WINEP programme directed towards environmental improvements focussing on storm overflows and wastewater treatment.  It is part of the utility’s largest ever £8.3bn investment to improve its services, infrastructure and the environment across the Yorkshire region over the next five years.