Layer Treatment Works Enhancements

Essex & Suffolk Water is upgrading its Layer Water Treatment Works (WTW) in Layer de la Haye, to ensure a resilient supply of clean, clear and great tasting tap water. The £6m first stage of the work has included creating a brand new ‘sand yard’ at the rear of the site, housing a new sand washing machine that replaces an older model that had been in place at the front of the WTW.

Sand washing ensures that the sand in filter beds, used as part of the process of clarifying the raw water during the treatment process, can be re-used time after time and will continue to deliver the best results.

With the first stage complete, work has now started on the next phase of work, which comprises installation of a Mecana filter block at the inlet to the site.

Raw water quality can be affected by such issues as heavy rain causing run-off from farmland into Abberton Reservoir and hot weather leading to algae growth. Climate change causes both to happen more often, and the new filters will help to tackle the impacts.

With the relocation of the sandwasher to the back of the site, the new Mecana filters will be positioned on an elevated steel frame at the inlet, allowing them to filter the raw water before it flows through the rest of the treatment process under gravity, reducing the energy needed to produce the drinking water. The filters are a chemical free system and are built off-site, to minimise site construction time and avoid disruption. They are manufactured in the UK and installation on site should be complete in Summer 2026.

Start Date: January 2025

Estimated End Date: Summer 2026

Partner: Essex & Suffolk Water, Farrans

Phase 1 - Sandwasher Progress

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