Southern Water has completed a major £10.2 million upgrade that will allow it to reduce the use of storm overflows and improve water quality in Kent.

The water company has invested more than £10 million into its Tunbridge Wells South Wastewater Treatment Works, in Broom Lane, Langton Green. After work last year to allow more phosphorus to be removed during the treatment process, the utility has now also increased the amount of wastewater it can treat at one time, from 260 litres a second to 321 l/s.

The work means that during heavy rainfall we can reduce the amount released into the River Grom, a tributary of the River Medway, via storm overflows, and improve the quality of the water going back to the environment.

Southern Water project manager Mark Woolford said:

“Reducing storm overflows is vital for protecting our waterways and coastal environments. The latest phase of work at Tunbridge Wells South marks another step forward in improving and future-proofing this important site and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to safeguarding rivers and improving the local environment.”

The work feeds into a wider storm overflow reduction scheme Southern Water is carrying out across the county, with a range of nature-based solutions and upgrades to storage and infrastructure focused on Tunbridge Wells, Bidborough and Tonbridge. It’s part of our £1.5 billion plan to reduce storm overflows and improve water quality across the region.