NUTRIENT NEUTRALITY: River Parrett

WCI delivers the complete package to Achieve Nutrient Neutrality

The task was seemingly simply. Design a foul drainage system for a new glamping site for 15 camping pitches and 5 glamping pods at Knowle Meadow that would meet planning requirements, environmental permitting regulations and building regulations while being affordable to install and run.

Unfortunately, the site lies within the River Parrett catchment and was subsequently required to demonstrate nutrient neutrality in order for planning to be awarded. Worse, heavy clay soils, the site has no natural drainage to ground.

Fortunately, this type of problem is right up WCI’s street.

To meet nutrient neutrality requirements, we directed the existing farmhouse drainage to a new sewage treatment plant to serve both the glamping site and farmhouse. Choosing a treatment plant with specific phosphate reduction capabilities, WCI was able to prove that overall the site would discharge a reduced amount of phosphates to the environment after development of the glamping site than before the development.

Building Regulations and Environmental Permitting Regulations? No problem. All to General Binding Rules.

Planning Approval – Granted – WCI’s first approval based on the upgrade of an existing sewage system.

Construction? Well who better than WCI? Despite some heavy autumn rainfall, construction of all the foul drainage, stormwater drainage and installation of package treatment plant was completed to high standard in November ready for the start of the camping season.

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The new sewage treatment plant was sited and installed as per the manufacturer’s instructions, surrounded in concrete and backfilled with soil. The air blower kiosk was discreetly positioned next to the garden fence and then the whole system was commissioned by a WCI British Water accredited and GRAF trained service engineer.

Having completed the installation, the team got to work restoring the grounds. The garden was returfed, the fence erected and the patio and the decking reinstated. The owners were left with a fully compliant and eco-efficient treatment plant which brought about a reduction of 1.01kg of Total Phosphorous (TP) per year.