Scottish Water has broken ground on an innovative, £multimillion project in Edgehead, Midlothian, to upgrade the waste water treatment system.
The project, which will see the installation of market leading treatment technologies, will improve the quality of the treated water being released into the environment.
Hybrid Submerged Aerated Filters, supplied by WCS Environmental Engineering, will be installed on the existing site. They will biologically disinfect the waste water by enabling micro-organisms to break down organic matter and potentially harmful nutrients. They will be buried below the ground and, thanks to their design, take up around 30% less space than traditional treatment processes while also being more efficient.
Thanks to the modular construction of the filters, they will be built offsite, reducing the on-site construction time and causing less disruption to the community.
![Example of submerged Hybrid SAF units at a WwTP](https://www.watermagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/scottish-water-edgehead-2-scaled.jpg)
Colin Freeland, Project Manager from Caledonian Water Alliance, Scottish Water’s alliance partners said:
“The current works at Edgehead has served us well however, it is not able to meet the modern standards required of it.
“We are delighted to be installing a technology which can be buried out of site, minimising the visual impact on the community.
“It will improve the quality of the treated waste water leaving the site and will ensure that we are able to continue providing a high quality service to the community for many years to come.”
The project will take around 14 months to deliver and will also include the installation of a final layer of treatment and a new outfall pipe downstream of the existing discharge point.