Anglian Water seeking ‘lenient’ permit for river pollution

Anglian Water is challenging calls from the Environment Agency to tighten up limits on the release of ‘solid’ matter and phosphate from its sewage works in Cambridge.

The water company, which has applied to move the wastewater treatment plant at Cowley Road in Cambridge to a new site a mile away on green belt land, admits it is currently ‘non compliant’ on the limits in dry weather.

And it would like the Environment Agency to relax its limits until the new sewage works is built so that it can become compliant.

The water company is also asking for a more lenient limit from the Environment Agency on future releases of ‘solid’ matter.

But Mike Foley, of the Cam Valley Forum, which assesses water quality in the River Cam, is urging the water company to aim for higher standards and to reduce the pollutants it discharges when the new plant is built.

He said: “By all accounts Milton Water Recycling Centre is an efficient works, but it does produce large volumes of treated effluent. All of this is discharged directly into the Cam and in the sluggish river flows during last summer’s drought the effluent made up over half the river volume, a huge proportion. So it matters what the effluent contains. The nutrient phosphate, which creates a eutrophic river that kills animal life by depriving it of oxygen, is a major concern environmentally, as are faecal pathogens to river users.

“Anglian Water admits that for some time it has been discharging more than its permit for ‘dry weather flow’ allows. However, the Environment Agency seems not to be too alarmed by this, stating that the current discharge is of a higher standard than required by the regulations. However, analyses of phosphorus in the effluent show its levels are sometimes close to the permit limit and I believe that efforts should be made to bring levels down even further.

“The EA wants a tighter interim limit at Milton than is currently in place, and says it wants an even tighter limit for the new site. Yet Anglian Water is challenging this, requesting less strict limits at both sites (also for suspended solids). A much lower limit of 0.25mg/l is technically feasible, with the right infrastructure in place and perhaps more easily achievable at the proposed new site at Honey Hill.

“I would urge Anglian Water to plan for the maximum phosphorus extraction possible during treatment to be put into place, especially as tighter regulations are likely in the future. Several phosphorus permit limits soon come into force at rural works further up the river, and these should go some way to reduce the high phosphate levels in much of the upper catchment. It will then become even more important for the Milton site and afterwards the new site to have the best possible technology to minimise their own discharge of phosphate, and other pollutants, into the river.”

A document submitted by Anglian Water in its application to the Planning Inspectorate to move the sewage works said it wants a new permit from the Environment Agency to “remain in place until the new Cambridge Water Recycling Centre (WRC) goes into operation in 2027/8, at which point permit conditions for the new site will come into effect”.

The Environment Agency has asked for further evidence to support the request.

The Planning Inspectorate is currently considering proposals for a new waste water treatment site that Anglian Water would like to build at Honey Hill.

Although Anglian Water has admitted there is no operational need for the move, it would allow Cambridge City Council to build a new city district with thousands of homes on the brownfield site in Cowley Road once the sewage works are relocated.

In March 2019, funding was allocated to Anglian Water and Cambridge City Council by the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) to relocate the existing Cambridge wastewater treatment facility. The relocation would unlock Cambridge’s last major brownfield site, known as North East Cambridge, for redevelopment into a new low-carbon city district as proposed via an Area Action Plan and a new joint Local Plan, which are both being developed by Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire District Councils. This new district is expected to consist of 8,350 homes.

Anglian Water was approached for comment.

From now until July 19, members of the public can register as an interested party and submit an objection, called a relevant representation.