On Friday , James visited the wetland area at Ingoldisthorpe which works as a natural treatment plant cleaning millions of litres of water a day.
This project created in a partnership between the Norfolk Rivers Trust and Anglian Water is the first of its kind in England. Water passes through four interlinking pools in the wetland and is further filtered and cleaned by 25,000 wetland plants. These plants purify the water.
Once the water has filtered through each of the pools, it is then returned to the River Ingol, one of North West Norfolk's chalk streams. This additional, natural filtering process further improves the quality of the water being returned to the river.
Although nutrient flow into the River Ingol was in compliance with treatment standards prior to the wetland’s creation, nutrients could still accumulate and cause harm. Rather than treated outflow being released directly into the river, it now flows into the wetland.
The wetland has also created a significant new habitat for wildlife attracting breeding birds, frogs, bats, water voles and other species to the local environment.
Commenting after his visit, James said:
"By harnessing the magic of nature, the quality of water is improved and a beautiful biodiversity habitat has been created. This truly impressive project is a blueprint that should be rolled out more widely in Norfolk and across the country."
