£34m water pumping station unveiled at Prioress Mill

Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water has unveiled its £34m pumping station at Prioress Mill in Usk.

The brand new station will help ensure over 300,000 customers in parts of Monmouthshire and as far afield as Newport and Cardiff will continue to receive top-quality drinking water.

The station pumps water from the River Usk to nearby Llandegfedd Reservoir. From there, the water passes through a water treatment works and after treatment will supply hundreds of thousands of customers with fresh, clean drinking water.

The original pumping station at the site was built in the 1960s and had come to the end of its operational life. 

The work by the not-for-profit company on the new station started in November 2017. Following the successful completion of the new station, the old pumping station was demobilised. 

This new state-of-the-art works house the latest processes, equipment, and technology within buildings that have been specifically designed to blend in with their agricultural surroundings.

Welsh Water chief executive officer Peter Perry said: “We’re delighted to have completed this significant investment scheme at Prioress Mill. Supplying our customers with safe and reliable drinking water supply is and always will be one of our main priorities.

“The new pumping station will use less energy and have lower carbon emissions. The new operating regime will also have less impact on the River Usk.

"This is a long term investment which takes into account the future effect of climate change and will help us maintain supply for many years ahead.

“We have worked closely with local residents to keep them informed of our work and minimise disruption and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for bearing with us.”

To mark the occasion, Monmouth MP and Secretary of State for Wales David Davies officially opened the pumping station.

Those in attendance were provided with a guided tour of the new station to see for themselves the work that has taken place. 

Mr Davies said: “It was a pleasure to be part of the event to mark the completion of this significant investment at Prioress Mill pumping station.

“It is important for people to have access to a drinking water supply that they have confidence in and the investment here by Welsh Water will no doubt go a long way to achieving this for decades to come.”

The event allowed the company to not only showcase the work that has taken place at Prioress Mill pumping station, but to also highlight the £10m investment being made to improve the community’s wastewater network.

On completion of this work, the company will help improve both the way it treats wastewater in the area and the quality of water within the River Usk.