United Utilities switches on treatment process at Davyhulme

United Utilities will be turning the flows on at its new “state of the art” activated sludge process this week, as a three-year revamp of Davyhulme wastewater treatment works nears completion.

Older parts of the treatment process have been replaced with modern, automated and efficient technology, the company said.

New processes have been introduced to convert sludge into a fertiliser for farmers, as well as biogas – a “valuable” digestion gas.

Davyhulme will be self-sustainable and will supply surplus gas back to the National Grid.

A harvesting point at the front of the treatment process has also been built as part of the revamp project, for the collection of fats, oils and greases to be recycled into other products.

Keith Haslett, director of wastewater network plus at United Utilities, said: “Davyhulme prides itself on using the latest technology with activated sludge as a treatment process being pioneered at the site in 1914.

“The modernisation project at Davyhulme will reduce our impact on the environment by having processes that are cleaner and greener, as well as ensuring a resilient wastewater treatment capacity for a growing and vibrant city.”

United Utilities claims the site will be one of the “leading” plants of its type in the UK. The project won an energy award from the Institute of Chemical Engineering for being the “most innovative green energy scheme in the world”.

Davyhulme is United Utilities’ largest wastewater treatment works, which serves more than one million people in Greater Manchester.

The £200 million modernisation process started on site in 2015.This year saw the start of the commissioning phase which is expected to be completed by September 2018.

Last week, United Utilities announced it will roll out new Nereda wastewater treatment technology in three of its plants.