Ingol Wetland success paves the way for 26 more sites!
A few years ago, our team successfully delivered the construction of a brand new wetland site in North West Norfolk – adjoining the river Ingol. The river Ingol is one of Norfolk’s chalk streams and provides a rare and unique habitat of global significance because of the small number of chalk streams which are present in the world. Chalk river systems are famed for their gin clear waters which provide a home to a diverse array of wildlife and associated flora and fauna.
The wetland was built next to a water treatment facility which processes domestic sewage owned by Anglian Water. It had been identified that water quality downstream of the treatment facility had been diminishing in years prior to the wetland being built and there was a desire to improve water quality in the river Ingol to allow fish, plant life and other species to thrive again.
Anglian Water considered 2 options. The first involved carbon heavy water treatment equipment and critically would have required the water exiting the treatment plant to have been pumped to a larger treatment site for processing. The second option was more pioneering and involved creating a new wetland site to use the power of natural plants and weeds to remove the negative properties contained in the water exiting the works and let nature do the work of improving the water quality. The work also need the existing course of the river to be shifted to a new route to make room for the wetland.
Anglian Water worked with Norfolk Rivers Trust, the Environment Agency, a local landowner and William Morfoot Ltd to both design and build the new wetland site which consisted of 4 pools where water from the treatment plant flows through. Each pool has it’s own set of native plants which cleanse the water naturally as it passes through each pool.
The results of this trial have been overwhelmingly positive and Anglian Water have now agreed to look to action a further 26 similar wetland sites adjoining their treatment works in other locations within their operating area. The Ingol site has been a triumph as far as habitat creation is concerned with wildlife thriving in the new wetland site. Critically, the water quality in the river Ingol itself has also dramatically improved – delivering on the initial aims of the wetland build.
We are beyond proud to have been involved in the construction of this very special site and are particularly delighted to learn the success of this project has been a catalyst for more sites to be built in the future.