WORK on an £11 million refurbishment of a water recycling site in Langport has been completed.

The Wessex Water scheme, which has taken 18 months, aims to help safeguard the health of waters in the River Parrett, with the finishing touches completed this month.

Improvements to the facility will significantly reduce the impact of damaging chemicals found in wastewater, the firm said, keeping pace with environmental targets and improve water quality in the river and its surroundings.

Since the autumn of 2023, teams from Wessex Water and sister engineering and construction company YTL Construction have been working at the site, to the west of the town, to improve measures removing phosphorus from wastewater during treatment.

New systems, tanks and upgrades to electrical equipment on site have also been carried out, with more than 8,000 tonnes of earth shifted to pave the way for the improvements.

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Project manager, Victoria Plummer, said: “Chemicals like phosphorus are found in, with sewage arriving at our water recycling centres, farm slurries, agricultural fertilisers and septic tanks among the sources and Wessex Water has committed millions of pounds across its region to address this issue.

“Where these nutrients are present in high concentrations, they can cause large growths of algae in waterways such as streams and rivers, damaging plants and animals in those areas by depleting the amount of oxygen in the water – a process known as eutrophication.

“The work carried out at Langport is an example of the decisive action we are taking to address this issue as part of our commitment to protect the environment and also take into account the potential for population growth in the area in future years.”

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More than £40 million of similar work to improve treatment methods has been completed, or is underway, across Somerset in the last few years, the firm said, including at sites near Martock, Crewkerne and Merriott, all close to the River Parrett.

In Somerton, more than £5 million was spent to remove chemicals and enhance the water recycling centre to boost the protection of local watercourses and the nearby River Cary.

And further north, a £5 million Wessex Water project to build an integrated constructed wetland to naturally remove nutrients is expected to get underway near Shapwick next summer.