When thinking of unique birthday experiences, a visit to a spa, a cider mill tour, or a concert might come to mind. However, a tour of a sewage treatment plant is hardly the typical choice. Yet recently, I found myself peering cautiously into a skip filled with pungent grey-brown sludge at the Saltford Water Recycling Centre, near Bath.
The sludge, reminiscent in texture of a raspberry ripple ice cream or a homemade chocolate crispy cake, was stuffed with various unwelcome items - partially disintegrated wipes, tissues, toenails, and odd bits of grime. It was difficult to look closely without recoil, but this unpleasant mixture was part of an intricate system designed to separate solids from water.
The centre, equipped with channels, conveyor belts, pumps, and waterfalls, works tirelessly to clean wastewater. Our enthusiastic guide, a former teacher turned sewage educator, explained the microbial processes involved in breaking down waste. She hinted lightheartedly at the weekend patterns, noting that Sunday mornings often see a different waste composition following a lively night out.
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The tour attracted a surprising mix of visitors: families, retired couples, and young people, all keen to learn about sewage treatment. Wessex Water regularly hosts these “Around the Bend” tours across its service area from Dorset to Gloucestershire, providing rare insight into a subject often overlooked.
Highlights included viewing human waste under a high-powered microscope, where tiny microorganisms rapidly moved to consume the organic matter. We also learned about unique pipe-cleaning devices, affectionately called “pigs,” which are foam cylinders pushed through the pipes to clean them.
Step-by-step, the tour showed how wastewater is transformed from dirty brown through various stages to nearly clean water suitable for release into the River Avon. Participants saw an escalator system that filters out objects like gold earrings, plastics, phone cases, and even false teeth, demonstrating the diverse nature of sewage.
A recurring theme was the persistent challenge posed by “flushable wipes,” which frequently clog the system, contributing to blockages and fatbergs. Crucially, I discovered that the iconic large circular tanks with rotating arms are not processing sewage directly but are instead filled with slag-an iron-rich byproduct from steel-making that provides habitat for beneficial bacteria.
The timing of these tours is significant amid growing public concern over sewage discharge scandals affecting rivers, beaches, and seas. The guide addressed the issue tactfully, explaining that during heavy rainfall, the combined volume of runoff and sewage can exceed system capacity, leading to controlled overflows into waterways to prevent sewage backing up into homes and streets.
She also explained that elevated nitrate levels in rivers mainly stem from agricultural runoff rather than water treatment failures. Responding to questions about recent allegations featured in an ITV drama about water companies falsifying pollution data, the guide assured attendees that Wessex Water maintains strict compliance and transparency, with their head of compliance present on the tour.
A fundamental issue underpinning these challenges lies with the Victorian-era infrastructure still largely in use. Despite privatisation in 1989 promising greater efficiency and investment, critics argue that vast profits have not been sufficiently reinvested to modernise and expand capacity to match population growth from 50 million to 62 million.
Campaigners highlight that Wessex Water has paid £4.25 billion in dividends since privatisation, while debt has risen to £2.6 billion. This financial focus, they contend, has resulted in inadequate upgrades, contributing to the system’s inability to cope during heavy rains, causing untreated sewage to spill into the River Avon.
Nonetheless, the Saltford centre features a recently opened £35 million advanced water recycling facility employing new filtration technologies. This upgrade has increased treatment capacity by 40%, handling about a third of the region’s wastewater and aiming to reduce overflow incidents.
Looking ahead, future tours may showcase this state-of-the-art facility, offering the public an even deeper understanding of the essential work involved in protecting waterways and public health.