Wessex Water is investing £1.5 million in additional storage capacity at a West Dorset water recycling centre next to the village of Toller Porcorum.

Improvements to the rural village’s water recycling centre that are getting under way in the spring of 2024 will help to prevent untreated diluted wastewater from reaching the nearby River Hooke via the automatic operation of storm overflows.

The water company is building a new storage tank at the site capable of holding up to 27,000 litres of excess water from combined sewers - the project that is expected to conclude in February 2025.

The added capacity will help the system – that transfers both foul water from people's homes and rainwater from downpipes and drains to a nearby water recycling centre for treatment – cope during periods of heavy rainfall.

Excess water will be hosted in the tank before later being pumped back into the sewer pipes and onwards to the centre for proper treatment and safe return to the environment.

Currently, if the sewers become overwhelmed, overflows are designed as a relief valve to protect homes from flooding by automatically discharging into watercourses.

Project manager Chris Harrison said:

“We’re investing £3 million a month towards reducing how often storm overflows operate and schemes like this ensure we can protect the environment and help to improve the quality of treated wastewater.’’

The bulk of the work at Toller Porcorum will begin in May, with work to prepare the site for the enhancements beginning next month.

Wessex Water said it has already invested heavily in a number of other recent schemes in West Dorset to reduce the instances of overflows automatically operating, including:

£800,000 project to pump wastewater away from the villages of West Bexington, where Chesil Beach lies on the UNESCO World Heritage Site Jurassic Coast, and Swyre, via a new rising main sewer was completed.

£500,000 investment to protect the coastline around historic Portland Bill Lighthouse by separating rainwater from the system carrying foul water from nearby homes, businesses and public toilets.

£10 million of investment at water recycling centres to help reduce overflow operations elsewhere in the county, enhancing the health of rivers such as the Stour and Avon.

£30 million-plus towards protecting the beaches around Bournemouth via a 40 per cent increase in storage capacity at the water recycling centre at Holdenhurst.