Improving our bathing waters

Our £4.5m project at Allonby wastewater treatment works was completed in April 2016. We increased the capacity of the plant by building additional treatment units which now reduces the number of storm spills in wet weather.

In 2017 we invested £6.4m installing ultra-violet light disinfection at our treatment plant to improve the final treated effluent returned to the environment.

At Hagg Lane we completed a £7m project in 2017 to help improve bathing waters at Morecambe. This involved building a new underground tank to reduce storm water spills into the River Keer.

In April 2017 we completed a £14m project to upgrade Chorley wastewater treatment works. By increasing the capacity of the works and improving the process we now discharge cleaner water to the River Yarrow which helps improve bathing waters and shellfish beds off the Fylde Coast.

In 2017 we completed a £3.5m project to install ultra-violet light disinfection at Kendal WwTW. This helps improve the water quality in Morecambe Bay.

In 2018 we invested £19m upgrading Preston wastewater treatment works by building extra storm water storage on site. We can now store the equivalent of 47 Olympic-sized swimming pools, which reduces the need for storm overflows to operate, improving bathing waters at St Annes, St Annes North, Southport and Blackpool South.

In 2018 we invested £38 million at Blackpool South. This major project separated rainwater away from the sewer system in the Marton Moss area, using new sustainable drainage systems. We also constructed an underground storage tank to collect storm water, which likewise helped reduce the frequency of storm overflow spills.

In 2019 we completed a £100m project which involved building a 12,000 cubic metre new underground storm storage tank, pumping station and long sea outfall pipe at Anchorsholme Park in Cleveleys. This has reduced the volume of storm water spills which are now discharged 3.7km off the coast, well away from the bathing waters on the Fylde coast.

In 2020 we completed a £70m investment scheme at Morecambe wastewater treatment works. As well as installing the latest treatment technology, we built more than 9,000 cubic metres of tidal storage which prevents discharges during low tides and a new outfall pipeline. We also built 24,000 cubic metres of storm water storage at the nearby Schola Green pumping station which has reduced the number of storm discharges.

In 2021 we completed a major £160m upgrade at Blackburn wastewater treatment works. This included more than 23,000 cubic metres of additional storm water storage, the equivalent of 9 Olympic-sized swimming pools. These improvements have led to reduced spills and improved water quality in the Rivers Darwen and Ribble and ultimately the bathing waters of the Ribble Estuary and the Fylde Coast.

We have completed a £4 million Regional Coastal Modelling project, working with expert consultants and the Environment Agency. This has given us greater understanding into the contributions from our assets as well as impacts from other sources allowing more targeted action in future.

We have contributed £1.5m to an initiative working with the Ribble and Wyre Rivers Trust, Natural England and the National Farmers Union. This has led to a better understanding of the other sources that can affect bathing water quality on the Fylde peninsula. The project reduced pollution from 30 farms along the Ribble and Wyre estuaries by supporting activities such as fencing off watercourses from livestock, building a wetland to treat a discharge from a slurry store and installing wash down facilities on farmyards.