Treatment plant in £3.6m upgrade to help River Wye

A water treatment works beside the River Wye is going to be upgraded, at a cost of £3.6m.

Welsh Water said it would introduce new processes at Kingstone in Herefordshire, to remove phosphates from treated wastewater.

The utility company aims to have the work completed by July 2024.

The River Wye in Herefordshire has seen excessive algae growth, which campaigners say is often caused by high phosphate levels in the water.

Welsh Water said the work formed part of a £836m investment in the waste water infrastructure by 2025.

It said reducing the amount of phosphates in treated water would help reduce levels in the nearby River Wye, which would benefit the river and its aquatic life.

Welsh Water's senior project manager Daniel Purchase said: "There are a number of factors which contribute to phosphate levels in watercourses, and we are committed to ensuring we do all that we can to keep our contribution to the absolute minimum."

Campaigners have raised concerns about levels of pollution in the river, thought to be impacted by methods of farming and sewage disposal.

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