£80m upgrade for sewage treatment

WORK under way . . . members of the Oldham and Royton project team celebrate the start of construction at Oldham wastewater treatment works as Simon Chadwick, United Utilities Wastewater Services Director, puts the first spade in the ground

AN £80 million project to upgrade Oldham’s sewage treatment system and improve the River Irk has begun.

United Utilities has started earth-moving work for the scheme, which involves decommissioning part of the sewage works at Royton and upgrading the treatment works in Chadderton.

The project, described as the biggest upgrade since the industrial revolution, also includes proposals for a new sewer pipeline between the two treatment works.

Chris Tighe, United Utilities project coordinator for the scheme, said: “New European rules will mean we have to treat waste water to a much higher standard, which both existing plants are too old and too small to do. The plan is to transfer most of the sewer flow from Royton to Chadderton and upgrade the treatment processes so that the water we discharge into the River Irk is even cleaner.”

The work will take until the end of 2017 to complete