BOURN STW - Secondary Wastewater Treatment in Bourn, South Cambridgeshire

BOURN STW is a wastewater treatment works located in the village of Bourn, South Cambridgeshire, England. It serves a population of around 3,000 residents, making it a small-scale facility within the region's wastewater infrastructure. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard biological treatment stage required under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) for agglomerations of this size. The plant has a designed capacity of 3,800 cubic meters per day, with an average daily discharge volume of approximately 667 cubic meters, indicating operational headroom. Treated effluent from the plant is discharged into local watercourses that drain into the River Great Ouse, a major river in eastern England. The Great Ouse flows through the Fens and ultimately into The Wash, a large estuary and important ecological area for birdlife and aquatic habitats.

The plant's discharge enters local streams that feed into the River Great Ouse, which flows through the Cambridgeshire Fens before reaching The Wash estuary. The Wash is a large, ecologically significant inlet supporting diverse bird populations, salt marshes, and marine life. The plant's secondary treatment helps protect downstream water quality in this sensitive coastal environment.