The quality of the water in the River Calder through Wakefield has received a boost following the completion of a £18.5m investment in treating sewage by Yorkshire Water.
Earlier this month the utility completed a 27 month scheme designed to protect and improve the quality of the River Calder and encourage healthy fish populations.
Calder Vale treatment works has been refurbished and new infrastructure added to ensure that sewage is treated to a higher standard than ever before.
In addition, two new combined heat and power generators have been built, which allow the site to generate much more of its own energy by harnessing the process of treating sewage.
The huge treatment works, which is off Calder Vale Road in Wakefield, cleans the sewage from around 110,000 people, the bulk of metropolitan Wakefield.
Mark Hewison, Yorkshire Water’s project manager, comments:
“There’s a double benefit to this scheme, which will not only significantly improve the quality of water entering the River Calder, it will also reduce our carbon footprint, by generating energy worth around £68,000 every year.
“The project will also help to considerably reduce the environmental impact of the waste water treatment process at Calder Vale."
The investment means that the Calder Vale works is discharging treated water which meets or exceeds new standards which are set to be introduced in 2014 as part of the Revised European Freshwater Fish Directive.
The EU Freshwater Fish Directive (FFD), introduced in 2006, is designed to protect and improve the quality of rivers and lakes to encourage healthy fish populations.
The scheme comes as part of a £120m investment being made by the utility between 2010 and 2015 to upgrade sewage treatment works and its sewer network.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
ERG, the leading supplier of odour control systems and industrial gas cleaning & thermal systems, has been awarded the coveted King’s Award for Enterprise.
Welsh Water’s new artificial intelligence-driven tool, ORAI, has been shortlisted for three categories at the prestigious British Data Awards 2026 – underscoring the company’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology to deliver better outcome for customers.
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.