Northumbrian Water will shortly start work on a £3 million upgrade of a wastewater treatment works which will benefit the environment and enable future developments across County Durham.

The water company is to modernise Tudhoe Mill Wastewater Treatment Works, which is located outside of Tudhoe Village.

The work, which will begin on 12th October and is expected to last until Thursday June 30, 2016, will improve the quality of the water discharged into the River Wear at the end of the wastewater treatment process.

During the project, machinery used to treat the wastewater will be replaced and upgraded and new, innovative treatment systems will be installed. Interserve Construction Ltd will carry out the work.

Tudhoe Mill Wastewater Treatment Works serves up to 25,000 people from Tudhoe, Mount Pleasant, Spennymoor, North Close, Sunderland Bridge, West Cornforth, Ferryhill and surrounding areas.

The works currently treats more than 6 million litres of wastewater per day - on completion of the refurbishment, it will be capable of treating more than 7 million litres of wastewater per day.

Dean Thompson, Northumbrian Water’s project manager, said:

 “Protecting and enhancing the environment is at the heart of our business and the project at Tudhoe Mill will help us to sustain this.

“By refurbishing various processes and assets, we can improve the performance, efficiency and capability of the site, ensuring it is fit for future generations with extra capacity to support possible future development.

Northumbrian Water is set to invest the more than £150 million between 2015 and 2020, to upgrade and maintain its 412 wastewater treatment works.