Southern Water Lavant Wastewater Treatment Plant – New Rushbed Design

Southern Water has obligations under the Water Industry National Environment Programme in England—requiring water companies to meet statutory and non-statutory environmental obligations. Replacing an old reedbed at their Lavant wastewater treatment site offered an opportunity to install a more efficient and environmentally sustainable solution and Southern Water engaged our help.

Our design for a new rushbed improves performance through increased aerobic action, as air is injected into the gravel bed through a network of fine bubble diffusers. Early results have shown a three-fold increase in the rate of treating wastewater. By piloting the Lavant Aerated rushbed, we’ve created a blueprint to install similar nature-based solutions to hold and treat wastewater flows at scale. The project reiterates our intent to champion sustainable, low carbon, low power and scalable solutions, with 79 percent of Southern Water’s plan being green solutions compared to the industry average of 34 percent.

With these innovations, the investment by Southern Water in the Lavant rushbed scheme has multiple benefits such as storm overflow reduction, meeting environmental obligations, and nutrient removal—along with encouraging biodiversity.