Southern Water builds new wetlands to protect the River Ouse at Lewes

Southern Water is building a £2.1 million new wetland beside an East Sussex wastewater treatment works in a move which will enhance and protect the quality of water in the River Ouse.  

The new wetland scheme, close to Staplefield wastewater treatment works near Haywards Heath, will feature a unique layout of plants in shallow water, which naturally filter and clean all water passing through.  

The scheme, covering 2.29 hectares in total, will not only tackle difficult to remove nutrients from treated wastewater leaving the site, the Integrated Constructed Wetland will also enable us to filter the output of storm overflows when our sewer volumes peak after heavy rainfall. 

 “As an engineer I’ve spent most of my career delivering concrete and steel solutions to address environmental challenges. However, natural green engineering is undeniably an important tool for water companies with a variety of benefits to take advantage of,” says Project Design Lead, Jamie Docherty.   

“The nature-based approach means we’ll continue meeting the strict standards for wastewater leaving our works as well as reducing our carbon emissions and increasing biodiversity. In this case, the extra benefits make it a better option compared to traditional treatment options,”  he added.  

“The nature-based approach means we’ll continue meeting the strict standards for wastewater leaving our works as well as reducing our carbon emissions and increasing biodiversity. These extra benefits make it a best value option compared to traditional treatment options.”  

The wetland will help to deal with nutrients such as phosphates which occur in wastewater and can cause algae to bloom in receiving waters stressing wildlife.  

We’ll work closely with the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Rivers Trust and local authorities to deliver this and measure the benefits.