South West Water Works to Restore Newquay’s Wastewater Network After Boardmasters Festival

South West Water has revealed the scale of work needed to restore Newquay’s wastewater network following this year’s Boardmasters festival.

Weeks of Work After the Festival Ends

Although the 30,000 people who flocked to Cornwall for the festival may have packed up, South West Water’s teams are still working to get the system back to normal.

Over 40 colleagues from the company and its supply chain have been involved in both the build-up and aftermath of Boardmasters, with preparations starting 10 months ago. The process of restoring the network takes many days, as treatment works are finely tuned to handle the intense flows during the event and must be carefully readjusted once the crowds have gone.

Dave Swiggs, South West Water’s Director of Wastewater Services in Cornwall, said:
“Preparing for the significant surge in pressure on our local network during festivals and events of this scale takes months of planning and weeks of increased effort from our brilliant colleagues to keep everything flowing as we need it to.

“It’s inspiring to see the hard work and passion our teams show to make sure these types of events run smoothly at the time and that our systems can recover to normal over the following weeks.”

📷Newquay Wastewater Treatment Works

How the Network Copes with Boardmasters

In the months leading up to the event, teams carry out thorough cleaning of the wastewater treatment works and check the sewer network for any potential issues. Closer to the festival, temporary storage tanks are installed to add extra capacity and prevent the treatment works from becoming overwhelmed.

Additional treatment equipment is also brought in to handle the stronger concentration of wastewater flows. Once the festival begins, pumping stations across the network are carefully adjusted to keep flows predictable, with extra staff on the ground ready to respond to any problems.

The Ongoing Battle Against Blockages

One of the biggest risks faced by South West Water is blockages. Last year, the company cleared more than 6,000 sewer blockages, with 75% of them caused by wipes, fats, oils and grease. With Cornwall’s population almost doubling during the peak holiday season, South West Water is reminding people to only flush the “3Ps” – pee, poo and paper – and never pour cooking fats or grease down sinks.