Innovation, an army of engineers, storage and treatment solutions and a helping hand from nature – is helping Severn Trent dramatically cut spills, and boost river health in Warwickshire.
As part of a progressive £450 million plan, the company is on track to deliver over 900 enhancements to improve overflows in the Midlands - in just three months the company has delivered over 55 bespoke projects benefitting local rivers in Warwickshire.
These include installing storage solutions andintroducing cutting-edge innovations like nature-based solutions in reedbeds and SAF units (Submerged Aerated Filters) to reduce the company’simpact on the region’s rivers.
Neerja Upadhyay, Severn Trent’s Head of River Health, said:
“Our ambition is to have the lowest level of spills in the industry. This is a challenging programme given the scale and ambitious timeline, but we’re making progress and we quite literally have an army of engineers working to make sure that we cut spills and improve the local health of the rivers our customers know and love.”
At Severn Trent’s Frankton wastewater treatment works in Warwickshire a standout project includes the installation of Submerged Aerated Filter (SAF) units.
Holly Thomson, Assistant Project Manager at Severn Trent commented:
“SAFs are game changers. While a lot of background work including site surveys and inspections goes into seeing if a SAF unit will work, if it does they can be really beneficial. They use natural biological processes to clean wastewater and can be set up in no time. If there’s the space, we don’t need big construction sites—just plug them in, and they’re good to go. It allows us to treat more wastewater, faster. It’s a huge win for Warwickshire and supports the wider work the region is benefitting from – all the projects and improvements we’re making, will help us to dramatically reduce our impact on local rivers.”
For Warwickshire, the local rivers have also benefited from a helping hand from nature, including the installation of reedbeds which help to naturally filter and clean wastewater, improving local river health. Additionally, storage solutions have also been installed, where additional stormwater can be held – reducing the need of overflows and cutting spills.
Investments include £78 million to bring parts of the River Leam up to bathing quality standards which uses pioneering ozone technology, as well as and a £35 million investment to remove harmful phosphates at the Finham treatment works.
Severn Trent said is committed to aiming for zero river impact, and the company has a storm overflow action plan ready to bring £300 million of investment into Warwickshire by 2050.
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