SEWAGE TREATMENT
Neutrient Neutrality
Nutrient neutrality is now vital for new developments: reducing contributions of nitrogen and phosphorus through advanced wastewater treatment (like Tricel’s PhosClear) helps protect rivers, lakes, and comply with planning regulations.
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What is Nutrient Neutrality?
Nutrient neutrality is an environmental planning principle increasingly adopted by regulators to ensure that new developments do not increase the load of nutrients – particularly phosphorus and nitrogen – entering sensitive water bodies. When areas are already under pressure from nutrient pollution, planning authorities may require that any new discharge be offset or mitigated, to maintain or restore water quality.
Why Nutrient Neutrality Matters
Protecting ecosystems
Excess nutrients in rivers and lakes lead to eutrophication – algal blooms, loss of oxygen, fish kills, poor biodiversity. Limiting phosphorus discharge helps avoid these outcomes.
Legal/regulatory compliance:
In many parts of the UK, Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) require nutrient neutrality assessments for developments, often following guidance from environmental agencies such as Natural England.
Long-term sustainability
Clean water supports human health, recreation, wildlife, and reduces downstream treatment costs. Moreover, laws like the Environment Act 2021 set targets (e.g. large reductions in phosphorus discharge by 2038) that make compliance essential.
The Tricel PhosClear is our solution for phosphorus removal in wastewater. It is designed to effectively reduce phosphate levels, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations and helping protect water quality. Whether you’re managing a domestic treatment system or a larger-scale installation, our product offers a reliable and efficient way to minimise phosphate pollution.
Phosphorus Removal: The Technical Backbone
To achieve nutrient neutrality, reducing phosphorus in wastewater is essential. Here’s how advanced treatment systems can help:
Phosphate vs phosphorus: Phosphorus from wastewater usually ends up as phosphate, which causes the disruptive effects in water systems.
Sources: Human waste, detergents, agricultural runoff. All contribute to the phosphorus load that must be controlled.
Technological solutions:
Tricel’s PhosClear is a plug & play, ready‐to‐install system that reduces phosphorus (and E.coli) without chemical dosing. It can deliver treatment levels as low as 0.8 mg/L phosphorus, removes up to 95% of phosphorus, and helps in meeting sensitive discharge standards.
The system uses natural media (Polonite) in chambers through which treated effluent passes in alternating flow, adsorbing phosphorus and disinfecting residual E.coli.
Nutrient Neutrality & Planning: What Developers Need to Know
Developers must show that proposed projects will not add to nutrient pollution in catchments already over critical loads. Key steps:
Assessment – Determine whether the site lies in a “nutrient neutrality catchment.” If it does, then the development’s nutrient load must be calculated.
Mitigation or offsetting – Either reduce discharges (via enhanced treatment, best management practices, changing landscaping, limiting fertiliser use, etc.) or contribute to off-site mitigation. Phosphorus removal systems are a strong tool here.
Compliance – Treat wastewater so that phosphate or phosphorus discharge meets relevant limits; maintain systems properly; document performance.
How Phosphorus Removal Supports Nutrient Neutrality
By integrating treatment units like PhosClear:
New development proposals can show significantly reduced phosphorus loads, helping satisfy nutrient neutrality requirements from LPAs.
Systems with high removal efficiency (up to ~95%) mean much less risk of exceeding discharge thresholds.
Low maintenance, no‐chemicals solutions reduce operational burdens and environmental risks.
Plug & Play
Eco‑Friendly
UK‑Tailored Design
Challenges & Considerations
Cost and installation logistics: Upfront cost of treatment units, ensuring proper installation, space, power, etc.
Maintenance: Even low-maintenance systems need periodic checkups, swapping the media bags, ensuring flows are correct.
Monitoring and verification: Need data to demonstrate that treated effluent meets agreed phosphorus levels.
Conclusion
If you are planning a development, nutrient neutrality can’t be ignored. Phosphorus removal technologies like Tricel’s PhosClear offer proven performance to reduce nutrient loads, protect sensitive water bodies, and comply with increasingly strict environmental regulations. Investing in good treatment now means avoiding regulatory risk, environmental harm, and potential planning refusals.
Tricel product range
Tricel Novo Sewage Treatment Plant
Durable & long lasting SMC tank, shallow dig tank, easy installation (Plug and Play), long life components.
Tricel Phosphorus Removal
Tricel PhosClear is a ready-to-install system that reduces Phosphorus wastewater without using chemicals.
Tricel Maxus Sewage Treatment Plant
Commercial plant. Submerged Aerated Filter (SAF) technology. Ideal for every project over 50 Population Equivalent.
Tricel Vento
Septic Tank
Shallow dig tank, strong & robust underground tank, no electrical or moving parts.
Tricel Tero Tertiary System
Next Generation tertiary wastewater treatment unit with proven E.Coli treatment capabilities.
Tricel Pumping
Stations
Pump fluids from one place to another where gravity drainage cannot be used, easy and trouble-free installation.
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