AQUABIO, the Worcestershire-based UK market leader in the re-use of industrial water, has been awarded a £3.5m contract for a wastewater treatment and water re-use plant at Dairy Crest's Severnside Dairy in Gloucester.

The cutting edge waste water plant, which will take15 months to complete, will treat waste water discharged to the local watercourse and additional treatment to ultra-pure quality for re-use.

Steve Goodwin, managing director of Aquabio, which is headquartered on Ball Mill Top Business Park at Hallow, near Worcester, said: "Dairy Crest is making a significant investment at Severnside to improve waste water quality and water recycling. Aquabio’s 12 year track record of providing large scale water reuse in the UK food and beverage sector, low energy technology and high engineering standards was an important factor in the decision making process and we are extremely proud to be working with Dairy Crest on this project.”

Around 60 per cent of waste water at the new plant will be treated to potable standards for re-use. The plant will have the capacity to recycle 550 million litres of water per year, enough water to supply the daily demands of more than 10,000 people.

Matt Bardell, Dairy Crest’s group sustainability manager, added: "This investment will deliver a step change in water abstracted at Severnside. It builds on our previous group wide successes in water efficiency and makes a significant contribution to our longer term corporate commitments.”