Client
Eric Wright Water / United Utilities
Project Value
£tbc
Services
- Structural Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- BIM
Project Overview
Caulmert Limited provided civil and structural engineering design services to support wastewater treatment upgrades across the Eden Valley in Cumbria. The works form part of a £75m investment programme by United Utilities to improve the quality of treated wastewater and reduce storm overflow across the region.
Working in partnership with Eric Wright Water, Caulmert contributed to the first phase of schemes delivered at wastewater treatment works in Morland, Milburn and Dufton, near Penrith. The improvements are designed to significantly reduce phosphorus levels in treated wastewater and improve water quality within the River Eden catchment.
The programme supports broader environmental progress across the Northwest, aiding in the protection of rivers, lakes, and bathing waters while enhancing the resilience of wastewater infrastructure serving rural communities.
The Challenge
The Eden Valley is an environmentally sensitive area with extensive river systems and high ecological value. Upgrading wastewater treatment works within small rural villages required careful design and coordination to:
- Integrate new treatment infrastructure within constrained existing sites
- Minimise disruption to local communities and ongoing operations
- Deliver improved phosphorus removal to meet environmental targets
- Increase stormwater storage and improve operational resilience
Caulmert’s Role
Caulmert worked collaboratively with Eric Wright Water to provide engineering design services across the three schemes, supporting the integration of new treatment processes and infrastructure.
Morland Wastewater Treatment Works
Design works included:
- New inlet works with packaged plant and storm overflow weir
- A 36m³ stormwater storage tank
- Ferric dosing plant and kiosk
- Bunded chemical delivery bay
- Humus sludge tank
Milburn Wastewater Treatment Works
Infrastructure improvements included:
- Four FujiClean tank treatment units
- A Flocell modular filtration plant
- Sludge storage tank with tanker collection bay
- New pumping station
- Land acquisition to create an access track and a turning area
Dufton Wastewater Treatment Works
Engineering works included:
- Bunded chemical delivery bay with interlock chamber
- Foundations for recirculation pumps and dosing kiosks
- Foundations for a new dosing rig
- Dosing pipework, ducts and drawpits
Project Outcomes
The Eden Valley improvements are part of one of the biggest programmes of investment in water and wastewater infrastructure in the Northwest for over a century. United Utilities aims to invest more than £13bn in the next five years to enhance water quality and safeguard over 500km of rivers, lakes, and bathing waters.
Through its engineering expertise and collaborative approach, Caulmert supported the successful delivery of these schemes, helping to:
- Improve water quality within the River Eden and its tributaries
- Reduce phosphorus levels in treated wastewater
- Increase resilience within rural wastewater infrastructure
- Support long-term environmental protection across the Eden Valley