Southern Water has started work on a £17 million upgrade of Pennington Wastewater Treatment Works, helping improve water quality in the New Forest and wider Solent area.
The site near Lymington treats wastewater from thousands of homes and businesses before safely returning treated water to the environment. The upgrade will benefit Avon Water, which flows into the Solent, and forms part of Southern Water's wider programme of environmental improvements across the region.
The investment will increase the site's treatment capacity by more than 50%, enabling it to treat significantly higher flows while maintaining high environmental standards. Capacity will increase from 375 litres per second to 567 litres per second.
A key feature of the upgrade is the installation of a new state-of-the-art UV disinfection system, helping to improve the quality of treated wastewater. The project also includes the construction of an additional settlement tank and upgrades to pipework, pumping stations and electrical infrastructure across the site.
Jorge Rodriguez, Project Manager at Southern Water, said:
"This is a major investment in the future of Pennington and the local environment. By increasing treatment capacity by more than 50% and introducing new UV technology, we're improving the site's ability to treat wastewater to an even higher standard.
"Protecting and improving water quality is one of our top priorities, and this scheme will help support healthier rivers and coastal waters while providing the resilience needed to serve local communities for years to come."
The project is expected to be completed in September 2028.
In recent years, the company has completed £63 million of water quality investment projects in Southampton Water.
A further £50 million has been spent to improve treatment works in the New Forest completed in the last three years, which included upgrades at East Boldre and Lyndhurst.
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