To create a more resilient region, United Utilities has committed to improving the health of rivers, lakes and waterways, helping to make the North West stronger, greener and healthier. That commitment includes major investment in the wastewater network and treatment infrastructure to reduce the frequency of storm overflow operations. The North West’s water company is proposing to invest a further £156 million to help improve and protect water quality – bringing the planned investment in Windermere to around £200 million.

Innovative wastewater treatment comes to Near Sawrey in a European first

As part of this investment, United Utilities is bringing world-leading innovations to Windermere. It’s the first water company in Europe to introduce an innovative low carbon, chemical-free wastewater treatment process and Near Sawrey will be one of our first sites to have the technology installed.

FujiClean, which was developed in Japan, is a chemical free-phosphorus removal solution and was originally developed as an alternative to septic tanks. The technology was discovered by senior engineer for the company Callum Grundy who heard about the technology at a wastewater technology conference. He then worked with the founding company to trial the system for United Utilities.

Andrew Kendall, country business leader, explains more: “We are always looking for ways both to enhance the wastewater treatment process and reduce the use of chemicals – FujiClean does both.

“The FujiClean system offers a much more enhanced wastewater treatment option that provides phosphorus removal without the use of chemicals.

“The treated wastewater is much better quality and we can now remove phosphorus in the same system. An added benefit of the design is that it doesn’t need emptying as much, this combined with not needing chemical deliveries means fewer vehicle movements to our small sites – a win for the environment and rural communities.”

The United Utilities innovation team has trialled the technology a test site in Cheshire (pictured above) for the past year with promising results. Work will begin to install FujiClean at Near Sawrey later this year. 

Mobilising the MOB in Langdale

It’s not just at Near Sawrey where United Utilities is installing innovative techniques to improve river water quality. At Langdale an innovative biological approach is being introduced that uses renewable plant material to support the growth of the bacteria used to treat wastewater. Mobile Organic Biofilm™ (MOB™) will enhance the treatment processes at Langdale wastewater treatment works, enhancing Windermere’s water quality.

The water company is already seeing great results in Cheshire where this technology is helping to improve water quality in the River Bollin.

Creating extra storage at Ambleside

Another site gearing up for investment is Ambleside. The company recently invited the community to learn more about its plans at a drop-in session.

United Utilities is proposing to build a new 25- metre diameter underground storage tank which can hold around 4,500m3 – that’s roughly the same as two Olympic sized swimming pools. This tank will complement the existing treatment infrastructure and help to further reduce stormwater spills.  

The storm water tank will act as a ‘holding area’ for the extra rainwater that enters the sewer network during times of heavy rainfall. Holding it back means it isn’t all hitting the wastewater treatment works at the same time and the system is less likely to be overwhelmed.

Over the next few months, United Utilities will continue to develop and model the optimal solution, including:

• Running ground investigations to understand the local geology and rock formation to identify the tools and methods needed

 • Conducting wildlife and ecology surveys – to understand and identify areas where we need to keep construction to a minimum

• Undertaking sound pollution monitoring to understand current noise levels and identify any future requirements

Planning permission for this project will be submitted at the end of December, with construction due to begin in 2025. The community can learn more about the plans for Ambleside online: Starting at Ambleside