Anglian Water has finished work on a £2.6 million scheme to improve the water treatment processes in Soham in line with new Environment Agency regulations.

This work – which included increased storm tank capacity and improvements to the amount of wastewater the site can process – will improve water quality in local watercourses, including Soham Lode.

Work began in 2021 and took place entirely on site at Anglian Water’s water recycling centre (WRC) off Broad Piece in Soham.

Work included an upgraded storm tank and new technology to remove new equipment to strengthen the current water recycling process by allowing the site to process higher volumes of wastewater.

With high population growth in the area, as well as increased surface water drainage, AW says it is vital the site is able to keep up with increased flows.

On top of processing increased volumes, the site can also now hold additional storm water to prevent discharges of untreated effluent.

The new storm storage at Soham has nearly doubled the site’s capacity, allowing twice as much storm water during extreme weather and flooding, so it can then be treated before being returned to the nearby water courses. 

Regan Harris, a spokesperson for Anglian Water, said: “We know how important rivers and the wider environment are to our customers and local communities.

"We’re really pleased that this scheme will help to protect nearby rivers and increase our resilience to climate change, by helping us make sure the wastewater is treated to an even higher standard than usual before it’s returned to the natural environment.

“As a result of climate change, we’re seeing more bouts of extreme weather, sudden downpours and rising sea levels, so it’s really important that our sites are prepared to process higher volumes of storm water and protect the environment."

That’s why we’ve committed through our Get River Positive programme that our water recycling processes will not harm rivers, with schemes like this one in Soham.”