West Stow STW - Secondary Wastewater Treatment Plant in West Suffolk, England

West Stow STW (Sewage Treatment Works) is a municipal wastewater facility located near Icklingham Road in West Suffolk, Suffolk, England. The plant serves a population of approximately 2,548 people and operates under the regulatory framework of the UK Environment Agency, which enforces the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD) for agglomerations of this scale. The plant provides secondary treatment, which is the standard required by the UWWTD for inland freshwater discharges from populations between 2,000 and 10,000. With a designed capacity of 3,600 m³/day and an average daily flow of 567.27 m³/day, the facility operates well below its capacity, indicating headroom for future growth or seasonal variations. The treated effluent is discharged into a local watercourse that ultimately drains into the River Lark, a tributary of the Great Ouse. The Great Ouse flows into The Wash, an ecologically important estuary on the North Sea coast. The plant's operations help protect the River Lark and downstream habitats from nutrient pollution and organic loading.

The treated effluent from West Stow STW enters a local watercourse that feeds into the River Lark, which flows through the Suffolk countryside before joining the Great Ouse. The Great Ouse discharges into The Wash, a large estuary and a key site for migratory birds and diverse aquatic life. The plant's secondary treatment helps reduce biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids, supporting the ecological health of the river system and the downstream estuarine environment.