£4.2million storm tank in Ivinghoe to help protect environment and increase resilience to climate change

Work on a new £4.2million storm tank in Ivinghoe is set to begin this month.

And Anglian Water says customers in the area should not see any disruption while works take place at its water recycling centre off Station Road.

The scheme will see a brand new storm tank, plus upgrades to existing equipment, and is designed to reduce the levels of phosphorus in the water that is returned to the environment.

It’s is part of a larger programme of work totalling over £100million, to increase storm water storage across the East of England. The additional storm water storage will help to capture and redirect more than 72.5 million litres of rainwater – equivalent to 29 Olympic-sized swimming pools – to help protect the environment during heavy rainfall.

The new storm tank at Ivinghoe will help to capture an additional 235,000 litres of storm water during extreme weather and flooding, so it can then be treated before being returned to the nearby water courses.

Polly Garrod, Regional Treatment Manager, 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 stormwater 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 Ivinghoe.”

Get River Positive was launched by Anglian Water and Severn Trent earlier this year. The plan includes five pledges to transform river water quality across their regions. Central to the pledges is a commitment that work carried out by the two water companies will ensure storm overflows and sewage treatment works do not harm rivers.

The project at Ivinghoe is expected to be completed by summer this year.