South West Water has completed a £5million investment in wastewater treatment in East Devon.
The project at Ottery St Mary Wastewater took three years to devise, develop and deliver.
South West Water Scientist Dr Nick Gardner said the old system was in desperate need of repair: “Ottery St Mary Wastewater Treatment Works was coming to the end of its useful life. Parts of the works dated back to the 1960s, though there had probably been some sort of treatment process on the site for years before that. The works was difficult to access and had become challenging to operate, and as the population of Ottery grew, it struggled to cope.”
Wastewater from all of Ottery St Mary is now treated at the new Fluxton and Ottery St Mary Wastewater Treatment Works, which serves a population of around 7,200.
“The original works at Fluxton, which treated waste from Tipton St John, Fluxton, West Hill and about a third of Ottery itself, was left running while we built a completely brand new works right next door,” explained Nick.
“To combat the risk of flooding from the River Otter, the works is built at elevation rather than at ground height, which was another design challenge.”
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