Sean Woodcock MP taking a water sample at Banbury sewage treatment works.

• Thames Water is carrying out a £14.7 million upgrade at Banbury Sewage Treatment Works (STW) to increase the sites capacity by 84%.  
• This is part of Thames Water’s plan to upgrade 250 of its wastewater sites to help manage demand due to population growth and climate change. 
• Sean Woodcock MP for Banbury recently visited the site alongside the Cropredy’s Women’s Institute, to learn about the upgrades and the process of treating waste.   

Thames Water is carrying out a £14.7 million upgrade at Banbury STW. The upgrade is expected to be completed by 2029 and will expand the site’s flow capacity from 266 to 490 litres per second, an increase of 84%. This will greatly reduce the risk of storm overflows during spells of heavy rainfall and longer periods of groundwater retention, which can cause the sewer systems to be overwhelmed.      

As part of the upgrade, the site is also undergoing a phosphorus reduction scheme, which will improve the quality of effluent released into the river following treatment. This comes as part of Thames Water’s plan to upgrade 250 of its wastewater sites to help manage increased demand due to population growth and climate change. 

Mark Ruinet, Senior Project Manager at Thames Water said: “As custodians of important infrastructure, we need to ensure our sites are resilient to the pressures of climate change and population growth so we can continue to provide reliable services to our customers. Our upgrades at Banbury sewage treatment works, come as part of our commitment to help protect customers and the health of the rivers and waterways.  

“We believe all discharges are unacceptable and we are committed to seeing healthy and thriving waterways, however we can’t do it alone. While we play an important role in this, we aren’t the sole custodians of river health. We need everyone working together to help our waterways thrive.” 

Sean Woodcock, MP for Banbury, and the Cropredy’s Women’s Institute learned of Thames Water’s commitment to updating its infrastructure following a recent visit to the site. The UK’s largest water company invited the Women’s Institute and the MP to the site, to showcase the improvements they are making and demonstrate the process of treating wastewater every day. 

Sean Woodcock MP for Banbury said: “I am grateful to the Cropredy Women’s Institute for their invitation to tour the Banbury Sewage Treatment works with them. On the tour, I was pleased to hear from Thames Water about the steps they are taking to address pollution in the River Cherwell and local waterways. I hope that these steps will help to clean up the River Cherwell and local rivers for good.” 

Sue Smith, President of Cropredy Women’s Institute said: “We all came away with a greater understanding of the process and the challenges that have to be overcome.  With our newly gained knowledge and understanding we are inspired to continue our citizen science work and to encourage our communities to think carefully about their use of water and the sewage system.” 

The upgrade of Banbury STW is part of Thames Water’s plans to improve 250 of its wastewater sites to help manage the effects of population growth and climate change. These include nearby sites at Bloxham, Hanwell and Greatworth. You can see a list of upgrades here.