Water quality: £8.2m being spent to clean up waste water entering River Ribble - here's what's going on

United Utilities are spending £8.2m on a new Wastewater Treatment Works in Chipping, as part of their Better Rivers Better North West action plan – which seeks to address concerns over sewage entering rivers and seas.

Untreated sewage is not currently being released into the river, but the new facility in Chipping will reduce the levels of phosphorous and ammonia in the water.

Programme Manager Michael Tillery said it will play an important role in improving water quality.

He said: “The new facility will have an increased capacity meaning it will treat a greater volume of wastewater more quickly.

“It will also feature new treatment methods which will improve the quality of the water that we release back into nearby Chipping Brook which is a tributary of the River Ribble.”

Why do it?

The will have increased capacity to deal with population growth in the area, and it will also feature updated methods of treating the waste water – these will improve the quality of the final effluent by reducing phosphorous and ammonia levels.

By doing this, it will improve the water quality in Chipping Brook – and in turn the River Ribble.

There is an existing Wastewater Treatment Works in Chipping which will remain operational until the new one comes online.

When will it be ready?

The new project is due to be completed in summer 2024. Through its Better Rivers Better North West action plan, United Utilities is on track to improve almost 200km of rivers by 2025.