Prestolee students learn about the dirty business of sewage

30 students from Prestolee Primary school recently visited Bolton Wastewater Treatment Works to find out what happens after they flush their toilets.

United Utilities staff took the pupils on a tour to show them the different processes that sewage goes through after it reaches the treatment works. 

After receiving their PPE and being inducted they were shown the inlet where the sewage arrives at the plant.  They were also taught that only the three P’s should be flushed down the loo – pee, poo and (toilet) paper. 

They then saw how sewage is screened and treated before the final effluent is returned to the environment. 

Rick Mills, Training Specialist at United Utilities, said: “It was fantastic to welcome the students from Prestolee Primary School to our treatment works at Bolton. They had so many interesting questions for us and we hope they learnt a lot from the visit.” 

Miss Lowther, Year 6 Teacher at Prestolee Primary School, said: “The Year 6 pupils and staff thoroughly enjoyed their informative and engaging trip around the wastewater treatment facility. It was so interesting to understand where our water goes once it's flushed and how this all links back to the local river. Each step was explained clearly and the children were full of questions which were all answered by the end of the visit. The hands-on workshop clearly showed the importance of thinking about what we flush.”

United Utilities collects 1,271 million litres of used water every day (from flushed loos, emptied sinks, baths, showers and household appliances) and take it along 78,000 kilometres of pipes and sewers to wastewater treatment works across the region.