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With the population of this country increasing (National Statistics) we should be looking for the current wastewater treatment plant to be enlarged and for a tertiary treatment such as phosphate stripping to be installed. The wastewater from this plant flows to the River Thames. The treatment plant should also be self sufficient in energy using solar panels and other forms of providing power for the treatment.
I hadn't known any of this. I imagine this is the responsibility of Thames Water. Does anybody know if they have any plans to do any of this, here, or anywhere else? Does anybody know if community action in other areas has been successful in getting water companies to make these sorts of improvements?
Hi Jim
I do not know any of the answers to your questions, but perhaps Thames Water has published a wastewater management plan with plans and budgets for updating their wastewater. treatment plants.
I do want to add another blue sky suggestion relating to the above subject.
This is for an anaerobic digester and biomethane plant to be built providing 100% renewable biomethane gas from sustainable sources of crops.
Wastewater treatment plants can be equipped to recover organic materials, solids and nutrient such as nitrogen and phosphorous from sewage sludge. With further treatment the sewage sludge can be used as an input to produce biogas in an anaerobic digester.
Other feedstocks can be used such as:
Crop residues from the harvest of wheat, maize, rice other course grains, sugar beet, sugar cane, soybean and other oilseed. This includes sequential crops grown between two harvested crops as a soil management solution that helps to preserve the fertility of soil, retain carbon and avoid erosion; these do not compete for agricultural land with crops grown for food or feed.
Animal manure from livestock including cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep and I suspect horses
Organic fraction such as food and green waste (e.g. leaves and grass), paper and carboard, wood that is not otherwise utilised (for composting or recycling) plus industrial waste from the food processing industry
The gas produced from this plant would supply gas to all the homes in Buckland and any surplus would feed into the national grid.
I do know of a town where this system has been installed, needless to say it was the town planned by our environmentally astute King Charles.
To add to the above blue sky suggestion, apart from Poundbury there is a town in Devon, South Molton where an anaerobic digester has been installed and provides both gas and electricity to the town.
Thanks for explaining in more detail, Ros.
I saw an article in the paper this weekend about an Oxfordshire village that is developing a community compost scheme ( https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/23/no-council-lorries-no-bonfires-how-community-composting-took-off-in-an-english-village). I'm not sure if web links work on this forum, but you will get it if you google 'guardian community compost scheme'.
Do you think it would be something that we could do?
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