Yorkshire Water is to build an integrated wetland at its South Elmsall wastewater treatment works to help reduce storm overflow discharges into Frickley Beck – a tributary of the river Don.
The wetland is a nature-based solution designed to treat storm flows during heavy and prolonged rainfall, and will take two years to build – a task being taken on by Eric Wright Water
An area as big as five football pitches will be built and planted with more then 220,000 plants, which will treat the storm water as it travels through the wetland.
Pollutants and nutrients will be naturally broken down and taken up by the plants and bacteria within the wetland. The wastewater will not include solid waste.
As well as providing a sustainable and energy-efficient way of treating the water, the wetland will also increase biodiversity in the area and attract a range of wildlife including bees and other pollinators, breeding birds, amphibians and reptiles.
Simon Hudson, lead project manager at Yorkshire Water, said: “This is an exciting project and as we’ve seen with Yorkshire Water’s Clifton wastewater treatment works, these wetlands provide a range of benefits not only the way we treat wastewater, but also for the local environment.
“We want to naturally treat the storm water at South Elmsall, reducing the reliance of energy-heavy treatment processes, providing a sustainable way to remove pollutants and reducing storm overflows into the beck, while creating wildlife diversity and achieving a biodiversity net gain.
“The customers who attended the recent drop-in session were supportive of our plans and we look forward to delivering this project for the benefit of Yorkshire’s environment.”
