Residents living near Church Wilne in Derbyshire are being invited to a drop-in event to learn more about the latest stage of Severn Trent’s innovative project to use nature-based solutions to treat more water.

The £140 million Witches Oak project is part of Severn Trent’s wider £566 million Green Recovery Programme, and includes the development of a new water treatment works, located adjacent to the existing Church Wilne  works.  The project is due for completion by spring 2025.

This will provide up to an additional 89 million litres of drinking water every day, which is enough to supply a city the size of Derby and will help ensure that customers continue to have a secure and resilient supply.

Along with the new facility, the project will host a national first, with the introduction of floating wetlands to pre-treat water.

The drop-in session will be held on Tuesday 4th June at Sawley Baptist Church Hall, 45 Wilne Road, Long Eaton, Nottingham, NG10 3AP, between 3.30pm and 6.30pm.

Mat Bingham, Green Recovery Programme Lead at Severn Trent, said: "We're working hard to futureproof our networks to make sure that we can meet the emerging challenges of population growth and climate change, and this project is a great example of how we're exploring and implementing alternative, sustainable solutions. “

"This project will ensure a continued supply of water both now and into the future, helping us to mitigate issues of water scarcity during the longer, hotter summers that are becoming a feature of our climate.

“The fact we’re turning to nature to help pre-treat the water will mean we’re doing this in the most sustainable way possible, and as a first for the national water sector, it could could help change how the industry looks to be carbon friendly when it comes to water treatment.”

In total, 31 floating wetlands have been installed on the northern lakes at the nearby gravel pits at Witches Oak next to the River Trent, providing a more sustainable and carbon friendly treatment process. Severn Trent is also working with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to enhance biodiversity at both the northern and southern lakes.

As well as installing new reed beds there’ll be a whole range of improvements from the creation of 5km of hedgerow, to wildflower planting and barn owl boxes.

Mat added: "We've had a few challenges over the winter with the extreme levels of rainfall that we experienced across the region, but our wetlands in the northern lakes have all withstood the weather and are absolutely flourishing.

For more information, visit stwater.co.uk and search for Church Wilne.

ENDS