Effluent from Klargester recycled

Effluent from Klargester sewage treatment plant is recycled for house-building blocks

Aggregate Industries, a leading manufacturer and supplier for the building industry, has found an innovative use for the effluent discharged from a Klargester sewage treatment plant at High Roads Quarry, Carnforth, Lancashire.

The effluent from the sewage treatment plant, which serves new offices for two companies owned by Aggregate Industries, is so pure it is being used to mix concrete for house-building blocks made at the adjoining quarry and to suppress dust on the site.

The quarry receives about three cubic metres of effluent each day from the sewage treatment plant, which serves around 60 staff working at the headquarters of Bardon Concrete North, which supplies ready mix concrete, and Bardon Aggregate North, which supplies aggregate sand and asphalt.

The Klargester sewage treatment plant removes up to 95% of the biological pollutants in sewage, which means the effluent discharged is of a very high quality.

It is further cleansed at Carnforth by being passed through a reedbed, where it is mixed with surface water from the office roof and car park, which is collected in a specially-built wedge pit.

All the water is pumped into a second reed bed and adjoining water feature which have been constructed as a focal point beside a scenic public footpath that passes through nearby woods.

From there, the water is pumped to a holding tank and used, as required, by the block making factory, which is operated by Aggregate Industries company Masterblock, and makes pre-cast concrete blocks for the housing market.

By recycling effluent and rainwater, Master Block has reduced its mains water consumption by about 50 per cent.

The company, which makes about 200,000 tonnes of blocks a year, uses about 15,000 cubic metres of water annually.

In addition to helping to save mains water, channelling the rainwater into the wedge pit, reedbed and water feature, has also solved problems with surface water flooding on the site.

The BioDisc model BE was installed several months ago when Bardon Aggregates North and Bardon Concrete North opened their new offices on an off-mains drainage site adjoining the quarry.

Since the site is in an area of natural beauty, it was subject to strict planning controls, which meant that a sewage treatment plant had to be installed, rather than a septic tank.

Problems with flooding on the site also had to be resolved.

The company's bid to collect and recycle water has been so successful, it has recently opened an education centre for local schoolchildren to show them how it works.

It also has also installed an informative guide to the project alongside the footpath.

Allan Berry, who is the local area sales manager for leading sewage solutions provider Klargester, said: "We are delighted that Aggregate Industries has found such an innovative use for the BioDisc sewage treatment plant effluent and it certainly bears testament to the high quality of wastewater".

"The BioDisc is a market-leading product and it is the ideal choice for this site, which is becoming a showcase for the way in which both wastewater and rainwater can be successfully recycled for the building industry".

Alan Barrett, Area Director at Aggregate Industries, said: "Developing an off-mains drainage site of this nature was always going to be a challenge because it was in an area of outstanding natural beauty and subject to flooding.

"We wanted to show how a development like ours could be constructed in harmony with the surroundings and operate in an environmentally sensitive manner".

"We hope that the youngsters who visit our site and people who pass by on the footpath will be inspired by the eco-system we have created.".

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