A treat to visit the treatment works.
Davyhulme Sewage Works is a fascinating place. I was one of three Trafford councillors to take up a guided tour provided by United Utilities. It’s a place I’ve always been aware of; famously because of its smells, but also because of the space it takes up alongside the ship canal. As a youngster I used to cycle over to Barton Airport to watch the planes and we’d take short-cuts over water courses and outflows to get to the locks. It’s a huge site.
The pong associated with the sewage works has noticeably receded. I’m not going to pretend it’s a become a canal-side idyll, but there’s no doubt there’s been significant improvement. It was also apparent that the technology is also improving even if the basic infrastructure still has components of the original 1894 works.
Davyhulme is long associated with technological innovation and we really don’t give enough attention to the development here in 1914. Searching the web just throws up the odd burst of enthusiastic exaltation popping up anywhere in the world.
Examples from the web
En 1914, les chercheurs anglais Ardern et Lockett découvrent que la dépollution est beaucoup plus rapide lorsque l’eau usée à traiter est mise en contact avec une biomasse épuratrice [4] déjà formée. Ils déposent ainsi le premier brevet sur le procédé d’épuration qui sera dénommé procédé à boues activées.
A Call for Recognition of Ardern and Lockett in Trafford
How did we come to miss celebrating the centenary in 2014? Ardern and Lockett are celebrated by sewage engineers all over the world. Why no statues, no streets named after them? Are we ashamed of poo?
Where are we now?
The process Ardern and Lockett developed is still in use all over the world. The demand on it has never been greater. Of course it’s been improved and there are new investments coming through.
Davyhulme wastewater treatment works is set to undergo an initial investment of around £350m over the next five years to ensure it meets the needs of a growing population and higher environmental standards that will improve water quality in the Manchester Ship Canal.
Link to press release
But…
Clearly, I welcome this investment. However, it is long overdue.
I don’t believe that water should be privatised. It is to the everlasting shame of the Conservative Party that we allowed our infrastructure to deteriorate to such an extent that processes I’m so proud of at Davyhulme and each and every other treatment works have to by-passed when the capacity can’t cope with sewage discharged directly into the rivers and canals.
We are where we are and whilst I abhor the use of rivers, I’ve got to recognise that the infrastructure that first receives the rain water as it comes down on us in ever increasing downpours is under the council control.
We’ve got to keep our drains and sewers clear. We’ve got to encourage each other to respect the drains and toilet flushes. Wipes should never go down the loo. Even if the manufacturers claim their product to be bio-degradable, the wipes never degrade quick enough not to contribute to the giant fat-balls that block the sewars. And even when the wipes make it through the system, they’ve still got to be removed and taken to landfill.
Mea Culpa
It’s not just wet wipes. I might not be guilty of disposing of those in the system, but I saw the amount of grit and small pebbles that make it through to Davyhulme, which is but a small proportion of the amount building up in our drains.
It was impossible to avoid thinking of ‘Stretford Beach’ and the amount of pebbles building up from there in the drains. Should we ever be using pebble and grit in ways that it’s impossible to avoid large amounts entering the drains?
Let’s keep the drains flowing.
Finally,
Strongly recommend a visit to Davyhulme Sewage Works. It’s absolutely fascinating.
Resources
A Visit to Cassington Sewage Treatment Works – 12-29-2021 in Oxford, UK
Davyhulme Sewage Works – Wikipedia
Featured image at top of post is copyright of United Utilities and is published under legitimate interest use.
