WELSH Water has revealed it will invest £3.5 million into a wastewater treatment works in Herefordshire – but there will be nine months of traffic lights.

The investment by the not-for-profit company which provides the county's water will see the treatment works in Weobley, near Leominster, upgraded.

While already treating wastewater to a "high standard", according to the company, the upgrade will see phosphates removed from water.

The phosphates can cause algal bloom and a ban on housing is still in place across much of north Herefordshire due to the pollution levels in the river Lugg.

Welsh Water says the work should reduce levels in the nearby Newbridge Brook, a sub-tributary of the river Arrow which then joins the Lugg.

For safety reasons, three-way traffic lights and a 20mph speed restriction will be in place along Kington Road during the work.

"The treatment works already treats the wastewater it receives from the surrounding area to a high standard, but the planned upgrades will see the treatment process enhanced even further," a spokesperson said.

"The main improvement will be the introduction of a process which removes phosphates from the treated wastewater.

"Phosphates can cause algal bloom so by removing them from the treated wastewater, this will help reduce levels in the nearby Newbridge Brook – which in turn will benefit its aquatic life.

The upgrade work will take place within the boundary of the treatment works, off Kington Road in Weobley, between early May 2022 the end of February 2023.

Welsh Water’s senior project manager Andrew Davies said: “As a company, we are committed to ensuring we protect the environment that is in our care, and that includes the watercourses we interact with.

"There are a number of factors which contribute to phosphate levels in watercourses, and we are committed to ensuring we do all that we can to keep our contribution to the absolute minimum. Our significant investment here at Weobley reflects this.”

Mr Davies added: “We always want to make sure our customers know what we are doing when we are working in their community, so we have written to residents to tell them about the work and have updated our website with the latest information.

“We appreciate that this kind of work can cause some inconvenience, but we will do all we can to keep this to a minimum and would like to thank people for bearing with us whilst we undertake these essential works.”