WESSEX Water has outlined plans to triple investment to tackle storm overflows.  Between 2020 and 2025, Wessex Water is tackling storm overflows in Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

These schemes include Spending more than £15 million on a new pumping station and transfer pipeline to replace the existing water recycling centre at Ubley in Somerset, reducing the impact of treated wastewater.

Building a stormwater storage tank in the centre of Bradford on Avon, reducing discharges into the River Avon by more than three quarters.

During the last year Wessex Water invested £69 million to protect the region’s rivers and beaches.

The water company currently invests around £3 million per month on improving storm overflows, which are licensed to operate automatically during or after heavy rainfall to protect properties from flooding.

There has also been major investment to remove phosphorus and other nutrients through advanced treatment at water recycling centres, work which is further safeguarding and improving river ecology.

By 2025, Wessex Water is proposing to do even more by tripling how much it invests – spending £9 million a month on further improvements to storm overflows, subject to regulatory approval.

Matt Wheeldon, Wessex Water’s director of infrastructure development, said: “We know our customers care passionately about protecting watercourses, whether or not they use them for swimming or recreation, and we share their passion.

According to the Environment Agency’s river quality data, storm overflows account for less than 1% of the reasons why rivers in the Wessex Water region do not achieve good ecological status. This is because what’s discharged is heavily diluted by rain or groundwater.

Mr Wheeldon said: “We would love to stop all storm overflow discharges immediately but unfortunately there is no quick fix – eliminating them completely would mean re-plumbing a sewerage system which has been built in this way for over 150 years.

“The solutions we’re rolling out include separating out rainwater to stop it entering sewers and constructing large storage tanks to contain the combined rain and sewage for later treatment.

Wessex Water has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-led app which predicts bacteria levels using other parameters that can be continuously obtained from sensors within bathing or recreational waters.

Mr Wheeldon added: “We’ve already used AI to provide real-time water quality information at Warleigh Weir, near Bath, Baltic Wharf in Bristol and in Poole Harbour where we are providing water quality forecasts for the shellfishery and recreational businesses."