Yorkshire Water is investing £6 million in its High Royd wastewater treatment works near Sowerby Bridge to improve water quality in the river Calder.

By reducing the Phosphorus present in the treated wastewater returned to the environment, the project will improve the water quality of over 1.54km of the river downstream of the works.

Phosphorus is a normal part of domestic sewage, entering the sewer system via showers and washing machines in shampoos and liquid detergents. It can also wash off from agricultural fields after the use of fertilisers and be dissolved from soil, which can be difficult to control.

While a small amount of Phosphorus is harmless and is an essential part of many ecosystems, it can become damaging to human and animal life when unmanaged.

The work will include installation of new chemical dosing equipment for the removal of Phosphorus, and additional equipment to support the wider wastewater treatment process, such as a new tertiary solids removal unit.

The project, which is being delivered by Mott MacDonald Bentley, is already underway, and is expected to be completed in the coming winter.

Simon Hudson, project manager at Yorkshire Water, said:

“The scheme at High Royd is one of a number of Phosphorus reduction schemes that we have planned across Yorkshire. Improving the health of our rivers is incredibly important, which is why we have committed to investing £500m in Phosphorus removal by 2025.

“This is just a small part of our investment in improving water quality in the Calder in the near and longer-term. We’re currently investing £180m to reduce the impact of storm overflows into Yorkshire's rivers and coastlines by April 2025 and have submitted plans to Ofwat that outline more than £1 billion investment in further reductions to the operation of overflows across our region, including those discharging into the Calder.”