Last Friday marked the official opening of Anglian Water's new state of the art filtration system at its Water Treatment Works in Norwich - the £36 million scheme is the largest of its kind in Europe.
The scheme has been specifically designed to keep customers' taps running for decades to come while protecting the local environment around the River Wensum, which is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and Special Area of Conservation.
Work on the scheme began in 2017 and has taken just over two years to complete, with the new system starting to be put into service at the end of 2019.
Anglian Water supplies millions of litres of water every day from the River Wensum to over a quarter of million customers and businesses that rely on it in and around Norwich. The new works can treat up to 57 million litres of water a day- 668 litres per second.
There are over seven and a half million fibres in the new filtration system, with a total surface area of 92,000m2. The fibres work by removing excess sediment in the water before further treatment and, ultimately ending up at customer taps.
Paul Naylor, Regional Supply Manager for Anglian Water said:
"Norwich is a rapidly growing, thriving city and a regional economic powerhouse. Water helps power that economy, so it's essential there's enough to go around but we also care for the environment and ensure we're protecting it."
Historically, the Costessey Pits have been an important part of the water treatment process for Norwich, by providing natural storage for water from the Wensum prior to its treatment. This initial phase allows solids and sediment naturally occurring in the river to settle out from the water before it is pumped to the Heigham water treatment works for further treatment before entering supply.
At Heigham, water flows are higher as the River Tud joins the River Wensum upstream. The higher levels mean that at time of lower river flows Anglian Water can take the water needed from the river without damaging the delicate upstream ecosystem.
This has not previously been possible because the water at this point in the river contained too much sediment to be treated without settling first. The installation of the new filtration system will solve this problem and treat the water to the exceptional standards required.
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