More than £100 million has been committed to the expansion of a waste management facility serving the city of Bristol.
Wessex Water (WW) has won permission to increase the size of its water recycling centre off Kings Weston Lane in Avonmouth, to accommodate population growth in the next few decades.
More storage and processing infrastructure will be built on site, including tanks and biological reactors, to break down and treat more sewage.
The facility treats sewage and wastewater from Bristol and areas of South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset and North Somerset.
It follows a five-year consultation process, as well as WW’s involvement in the construction of 11.5 km of new sewerage infrastructure in the Bristol area in recent years to allow for population growth.
Construction will get underway early next year, with the expanded facility expected to be in operation by 2028.
“Bristol and areas around it are projected to grow substantially over the coming decades and this expansion will help our services keep pace with the inevitable increase in demand,” said Simon Osborne, Wessex Water’s project delivery manager.
“Our site at Avonmouth is already the largest in our region, but by enhancing our capacity and operations there to treat more sewage and wastewater, we can help to ensure that treatment continues to safeguard the environment by maintaining the highest standards for release back into the Severn Estuary.”
In April, Wessex Water came under criticism for paying a £200,000 bonus to four of its bosses despite sewage finding its way into local waterways.
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