Helicopter delivers water tanks to treatment site

A helicopter has been used to deliver large equipment to a water treatment site in Kent as part of a £2.5m improvement project.

Four water tanks have been delivered to the Southern Water wastewater treatment works in Pembury in a bid to improve the quality of the treated water leaving the site.

The tanks each weigh 1,275kg (2,810 lbs), are 5m high and 2.6m wide.

Annabel Dewey, project manager for the site, said: "These tanks will support a new system to remove phosphorus from treated water, and the delivery is a key milestone in continuing to improve the performance at this site."

A helicopter was used to avoid the narrow roads and protect wildlife in the area, she added.

Ian Read, of Southern Water, said: "The intention of that is to try and get the phosphorous that the site produces down to an even lower level than it already is, down to 0.25mg per litre.

"Customers have told us they want us to improve the quality of the environmental products that we make, including the treated waste water that we produce here at Pembury, so this helps improve that."

There will be visible improvements in the "bathing water" across the South East, Read added.

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