Southern Water has started work on a £3 million upgrade to its West Wellow Wastewater Treatment Works in Hampshire.

Work to increase the capacity of the works near Romsey is now underway in an effort to further reduce the use of storm overflows.

The water company will be installing three new tanks to boost the amount of wastewater that can be treated at the works – cutting the likelihood of storm overflows into the River Blackwater.

Southern Water said the work will also help to protect the ecology and enhance the water quality of the river.

The work forms part of a wider £2 billion investment during the current AMP7 investment period 2020 to 2025 by Southern Water to improve our environmental performance across our region.

Project Manager, Taniko Aston-Kolek, said:

“We’re delighted to be starting work upgrading West Wellow Wastewater Treatment Works. We understand the concerns around storm overflows and one way we can reduce them is by significantly investing in our assets and increasing the amount of wastewater we can treat especially when there is heavy rain.

Southern Water is expecting that the project will be complete by Spring next year.