Anglian Water’s new wetland in Ingoldisthorpe has been formally opened by children from the village primary school.

The one-hectare site acts as a natural treatment plant to over a million litres of water, with treated water passing through to be further filtered before returning to the River Ingol.

This natural filtering process improves the quality of water being returned to the river, benefitting the whole of the River Ingol, which is a spring-fed chalk stream.

Regan Harris, from Anglian Water, said: “This is a really exciting project to be involved in and it’s fantastic that the site is being formally opened.

“Wetland treatment sites like this enable us to treat used water to the same high standards as our conventional sites while vastly reducing our carbon footprint, costs and most importantly, enhancing the local environment and ecosystems.”

The £500,000 project is made up of four shallow interconnected ponds which have been planted with native chalk wetland species such as iris, sedges, rush, marsh marigold and watercress.

Ms Harris added: “Chemicals like phosphates and ammonia come from urbanisation, domestic products like detergents, as well as from human and animal waste.

“We need to find more natural ways to treat them rather than adding more and more chemicals in our treatment processes, which is unsustainable. So the wetland is a great solution. It’s excellent for biodiversity, and does this job for us naturally.

“We’re already looking at where we can make scheme like this commonplace as a water treatment option in the future as it’s an excellent example of how by working together, we can provide innovative solutions for our treatment processes.

“And this will ensure they are sustainable for future generations and protect the environment.”

Jonah Tosney, project manager for the Norfolk Rivers Trust, said similar work near Cromer had already had a major impact there.

He said: “The result has been simply fantastic, with much improved water quality as well as increased biodiversity.

“The wetland starts to work almost immediately and we have shown these natural systems are great solutions to protect and improve the environment.”

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