Anglian Water has announced that a £21 million upgrade to its water recycling centre in Cambridge will get underway this month.

The major investment will future-proof the site on Cowley Road for decades to come.

The announcement adds to a raft of other Anglian Water projects already underway across the city and suburbs. These include £1.6m to extend the sewer network at Great Kneighton to serve around 2,350 new homes; £1.7m earmarked to provide sewerage services for 1,500 homes at Northstowe; £800,000 to re-line 3km of the city’s sewers, plus improvements at another existing water recycling centre at Utton’s Drove. The projects bring the total investment in and around Cambridge to £29 million over the next six years.

Anglian Water’s Director of Water Recycling, Paul Gibbs, said:

“It’s vital that we continue to support the thriving economy around Cambridge and ensure it remains one of Britain’s leading business cities.

 “Our investment of £29 million over the next six years reflects this and will enable us to continue recycling water and serving the community for years to come. Faced with a growing population, projects like this are vital if the region is to continue to thrive.”

 The Water Recycling Centre was built in 1895 and since then has undergone a number of improvements as the city of Cambridge has grown up around the works. It now treats used water from customers in Cambridge and surrounding villages, while at the same time maintaining the quality of the River Cam.

 A pumping station and eight new treatment tanks will be installed as part of the upgrade, which will be contained on the existing site, on land near the A14. The eight tanks will replace 25 older, less efficient treatment tanks, which will be decommissioned in 2015. The improvements will also help to ensure ever tighter standards are met for water quality in the River Cam.

The site already generates its own renewable energy thanks to a Combined Heat and Power generator which converts waste into energy to power part of the plant. This new equipment will also be energy efficient compared to the outgoing parts.

 Work will start on site this month, with the main equipment installed from September 2014. The project is expected to complete in 2015.