Wetland to be created at Dorset sewage works

Wessex Water is to create a wetland habitat to help filter sewage overflows at a pumping station in Dorset.

The water company plans to transform agricultural land south of its Bulbury Lane pumping station at Lytchett Matravers. The wetland of several interlocking pools will be built on a privately owned 4-ha site. Each pool will trap sediment from the overflows until the wastewater reaches a wet woodland at the bottom of the site before entering the watercourse.

Work begins in September and will take three months to complete.

The wetland will extend south of the pumping station in Lytchett Matravers (Mike Faherty via Geograph).

Company data shows sewage flowed from the facility for 376 hours in 2022. In a planning application, approved by Dorset Council, the firm said the plan "offered a more sustainable solution than additional pump storage".

Wessex Water said that in addition to the wetland it was also investing £1.6 million to upgrade the pumping station. In the planning application, the company said: "The proposed development will significantly improve the ecological status of the downstream waterbodies and reduce the risk of future water quality problems within the catchment and Poole Harbour Site of Special Scientific Interest."

A spokesperson said: "It has the added benefit of increasing biodiversity, providing prime habitats for birds, invertebrates and other wildlife."