AS part of their response to causing a public nuisance with their foul odours, Yorkshire Water has begun to publish regular updates on the company website at a special Saltend waste water treatment works webpage.
The latest updates come following Yorkshire Water meeting this week with local East Riding of Yorkshire Councillors Mike Bryan and Sue Steel, and local Parish Councillors from Hedon, Preston and Paull.
The main statement from the company focusses on its aim to have measures in place by the pea (peak load) season (June, July, August) in 2016 to prevent odours being generated.
Those measures include:
- the “installation of additional enhanced chemical dosing in the lamellas” – the lamellas are the large open-to-air tanks (photo) and is part of the pre-treatment stage for effluent entering the waste water works. Chemical dosing helps the solids separate from the liquids at a faster rate, so that the ‘load’ going into the next stage of treatment is lessened.
- “Installation of new control regime for Sequence Batch Reactors to allow increased aeration” – basically this stage aerates the waste water/sludge which reduces the organic matter in it.
Yorkshire Water claim that these two improvements will increase the treatment capacity at the waste water plant by around 25%.
The company also hints at “working with its industrial customers” to “explore the pre-treatment of some of the waste water at source”. By this we understand them to mean working with Norbert Dentressangle on measures to pre-treat the waste water at their West Hull pea-processing plant.
At the Birds Eye plant in Brighton Street, Norbert Dentressangle processes one tonne of peas every minute during the pea season. The waste water (and eventual smelly effluent) is generated as the peas are washed and cleaned and also from the water used to cool the peas down after being blanched before being frozen.
The idea of working at the pea factory to treat the waste water there before it is discharged into the sewers, is not a new idea. It has been mentioned by Yorkshire Water at meetings with councillors as far back as 2013 as an option to be explored.
So why haven’t pre-treatment measures at the Brighton Street pea factory been implemented already?
How far have these talks about pre-treatment at the pea factory progressed?
We assume that any thing that affects the lucrative and profitable operation of the pea factory will be of enormous concern to Norbert Dentressangle. But the pea season takes place over nine weeks in the summer which would seem to allow lots of time to carry out and install any new processes/machinery between seasons?
Following Yorkshire Water’s statement that the treatment works has been receiving flows of waste water far beyond the capacity (up to 125%) it was designed to treat during the pea season, then we have to ask hypothetically whether the pea processing should even be allowed to take place at all in West Hull, when clearly the city’s waste water treatment works facilities can’t cope!?
Also, hypothetically, if another agricultural giant company (rhubarb, broad-beans perhaps!?) was seeking planning permission for a similar scale factory with similar processes – then Yorkshire Water, as a consultee in the planning process would have to object, because they know their infrastructure wouldn’t be able to cope!
It is good that Yorkshire Water is publishing information on its website for public consumption, and that councillors are continuing to meet and monitor the company, but the Stench at Saltend protesters and the Hedon Blog haven’t gone away – and the awkward questions will continue to be asked of Yorkshire Water (and its partners); and the company will be held accountable for their actions and statements.
Visit: Report Yorkshire Water Stinks!
PS: Since April 2015, Norbert Dentressangle became part of XPO Logistics, Inc. XPO was formerly just USA-based, but is now a global provider of transportation and logistics services, with annual revenue of approximately US$9.2 billion, more than 52,000 employees with 850 offices in 27 countries.
“Yorkshire Water claim that these two improvements will increase the treatment capacity at the waste water plant by around 25%.”
I am hoping that YW won’t be tempted to invite more industrial customers to send more effluent for processing and to reap more profits otherwise residents will be back to square one next summer!
Ray.
I think you’ve mixed up your lamellas with your sequence batch reactors (SBS) – as I did until YW explained the difference at the ERYC Review Panel last week.
A lamella is defined as follows (thanks Wikipaedia)
A lamella clarifier (inclined-plate clarifier) is designed to remove particulates from liquids. They are often employed in primary water treatment in place of conventional settling tanks. They are used in industrial water treatment. Unlike conventional clarifiers they use a series of inclined plates. These inclined plates provide a large effective settling area for a small footprint . The inlet stream is stilled upon entry into the clarifier. Solid particles begin to settle on the plates and begin to accumulate in collection hoppers at the bottom of the clarifier unit. The sludge is drawn off at the bottom of these hoppers and the clarified liquid exits the unit at the top by weir.
There are lots of pictures on wiki if bloggers want to go and have a look
The SBS are the actual big circular tanks.
By way of an update, i declined the invitation to the meeting that Mike and Sue went to with YW, as I had been appointed to the task of chairing the Review Panel, and I felt it would be inappropriate for me to speak to YW outside of that Panel.
The first session of the Panel was held last week and we were literally outnumbered by YW people, Seven of them turned up to give presentations including the Chief Executive of the Kelda Group and Yorkshire Water. So we have certainly got their attention.
There’s a long way to go yet though.
John P. Dennis
Cllr E.R.Y.C
Ward Member S.W.Holderness
Thanks for that clarification John. After so many visits to the site over the years, it’s amazing that we can still mix up our lamellas and SBRs! Big bubbly tanks BBTs are our SBRs. Easy really. 🙂
A guide to Yorkshire Water speak would be useful I think! Wouldn’t want to get confused by their peak loads! Or their peak loads and peas even!