Overhaul of aged city sewage works set to get under way

Yorkshire Water is set to make “significant” improvements to its Woodhouse Mill works, which serve around 122,000 people in the south east of the city.

The project is part of Yorkshire Water’s £350m investment into its sewage treatment works across the region between 2005 and 2015, to ensure treated water discharged back into the environment meets the standards of the Revised European Freshwater Fish Directive, which comes into force in four years’ time.

Engineering specialists ETM will begin work at the Woodhouse Mill site on Monday, October 3, and the project is expected to be completed by September 2013.

Laura Harrison, from Yorkshire Water’s community engagement team, said: “We take our responsibility to protect Yorkshire’s stunning environment extremely seriously and this is just another example of this.

“Our £350m investment is helping to ensure that the quality of the treated water we discharge back into the region’s rivers is of an exceptionally high standard, boosting riverlife and enhancing the environment – as well as helping to ensure we boast some of the best treatment facilities in Europe.”

A spokesman for Yorkshire Water said that members of the public “may notice an increase in traffic” entering the Woodhouse Mill site.

They added: “Everything possible will be done to limit this, in order to minimise any disruption.

“Neither Yorkshire Water or ETM employees will need access to residents’ properties and residents are being asked to be on their guard against bogus callers.

“Genuine employees carry identity cards which can be verified by calling 0845 1242424 and won’t mind waiting while their credentials are verified.”

During the works at Woodhouse Mill, improvements will be made to “all three stages of the water treatment process.”

New treatment facilities are also being added at the works, including several giant 30-metre-wide settlement tanks where sludge is removed from the waste water.

There will also be aerated tanks where “good” bacteria will be used to break down the “bad” bacteria in the water.