Scottish Water's £35 million state-of-the-art wastewater treatment works in Winchburgh has reached a significant milestone, as it begins to receive and treat flows from across the region.

Work began in September 2021 and when fully commissioned the works – which is only the second of its kind in Scotland and uses Nereda technology – will serve the growing community of Winchburgh, the population of which is projected to continually increase from now to 2032.

The award-winning Nereda treatment technology makes treating wastewater significantly more energy efficient and takes up a smaller site footprint compared to conventional treatment process. Thanks to its efficiency and effectiveness, it will help protect the local water environment, whilst providing the required capacity to support the local community as it continues to grow.

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The construction took place next to the existing site on the outskirts of the town. A new access road into the site was constructed to allow us to avoid taking heavy construction traffic up the residential street, Craigton Place. In the end around 7000 traffic movements were avoided along the residential street.

With all the major construction work complete, the testing of the process and equipment is now underway. The remaining work required on site will be to reinstate the land currently being used for the site compound. Commissioning works will be ongoing within the new works to ensure everything is operating as expected.

Dougie McInnes, Project Manager at ESD, Scottish Water's alliance partner said: "I'd like to acknowledge all the brilliant work done by everyone involved to get us to this point. I'm really proud to be part of such an incredible team of people and look forward to handing over a quality asset to Scottish Water to operate for years to come."

An official opening is being planned for summer 2024.