Anglian Water to invest £42 million to upgrade Suffolk’s water recycling centres including Haverhill, Great Cornard and Hundon
Anglian Water is investing £42 million to protect the rivers in Suffolk by improving the quality of the water.
The water company’s new project, ‘@one Alliance’, is set to upgrade the county’s water recycling centres, including in Haverhill, Great Cornard and Hundon, and install new equipment which will remove phosphorous from wastewater.
Phosphorous is used in soaps and cleaning products but can be harmful to wildlife when it reaches rivers and other watercourses.
Regan Harris, spokesperson for Anglian Water, said: “Our current environmental investment programme is one of the biggest in the sector.
“We’re really pleased that these upgrades to our water recycling centres in Suffolk 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.
“We know how important rivers and the wider environment are to our customers and local communities.
“That’s why we’ve committed through our Get River Positive programme that our water recycling processes will not harm rivers.”
The investment of £42 million will see the installation of new equipment to reinforce the current water recycling process and will remove even more phosphorous to help prevent harmful algae growth and improve overall water quality.
The funds will be split across the county’s water recycling centres and a full list of investment figures can be found below:
- Haverhill: £9 million
- Great Cornard: £5 million
- Hundon: £3.3 million
- Great Waldingfield: £3.1 million
- Stradishall: £3 million
- Burrough Green: £2.6 million
- Thurlow: £2.6 million
- Benhall: £2 million
- Withersfield: £1.5 million
- Earl Soham: £1.4 million
- Wickhambrook: £1.3 million
- Gazely: £560,000
- Wenhaston: £3.3 million
- Hawstead: £3.4 million
The Get River Positive programme was launched in 2022 by Anglian Water and Severn Trent which included five pledges to improve river water quality across the region.
As part of the pledges, both water companies committed to ensuring storm overflows and sewage treatment works do not harm rivers.
Anglian Water also has plans to double its investment into the environment to £4 billion over the next five years.
The proposals are part of the company’s largest ever business plan, totalling to £9 billion, which is waiting approval from the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat).