Breath of fresh air that has cost £29m (From This is Hampshire)

Peel Common Pong clear up costs £29m

8:33am Friday 24th October 2008 in News By Melanie Adams, Health Reporter

IT is a breath of fresh air that has taken more than 20 years and come with a price tag of £29m.

Long-suffering residents of Fareham can now finally wave goodbye to the notorious Peel Common Pong.

For more than two decades the Peel Common Wastewater Treatment works has been causing a stink across the borough.

But thanks to a multi-million-pound upgrade at the plant by Southern Water, Fareham no longer has to hold its nose.

Southern Water has just completed a £29m environmental improvement scheme that includes a new, advanced nitrogen removal process that includes using live bugs and seashells to treat the odour-causing gas.

Campaigners from the Peel Common Odour Forum have welcomed the news.

Ward councillor for Lee-on-the-Solent Christopher Carter said: “Over the last two years there has been considerable improvement with the smell, so this is very much welcome.

“Let’s hope that this scheme helps to completely eliminate the smell for once and for all. I know many of my constituents will find this encouraging.”

The scheme will also ensure that levels of nitrogen in the sensitive waters of the Solent do not reduce the amount of oxygen, resulting in the death of marine wildlife.

Jon Crooke, from Southern Water, said: “We are extremely proud of our Peel Common site.

“One of the aims of the upgrade was to reduce smells coming from the site.

Odour reduction methods include the use of natural products such as seashells, bark and seaweed which are kept in tanks.

“Live bugs live in the tanks which treat the gas hydrogen sulphide that cause the smells. The gas is sucked away by fans before going through carbon filters back into the atmosphere. By the time the gas passes through the layers of bark and seaweed, the bacteria and carbon have removed most smells.”