Sea pollution to be tackled through new Plymouth solar power project

Plymouth City Council have proposed plans to install a new water system that will collect and filter rainwater ultimately stopping sewage from polluting the sea.

The new solar power project, which was announced yesterday and would be comprised of new underground tanks being installed, would be able to ease the pressure on the old sewer system that was built in the city during the 1940s.

One of the main reasons for proposing the new plans was because the council said every time it rained, the sewers overflowed and distributed dirty water.

Cllr Tom Briars-Delve, cabinet member for environment and climate change said: ‘The large underground tanks already exist and have been there for a number of years.

‘The new system will also enable the watering of the new and existing trees on Armanda Way, and it will reduce the amount of much and pollution being pushed into the Sound.’  

However, although the council have come up with new sustainable plans to combat the city’s sewage problem, last month the local authority faced backlash over their decision to tear down 110 trees in order to replace them with 200 new ones.

As a result of this decision, the council’s Conservative leader resigned despite the new greenery being expected to ‘give immediate environmental benefits’.

Commenting on the news regarding the new project to keep dirty water out of the sea, Bruce Newport, from the Environment Agency, said it was an ‘excellent opportunity to ensure Amanda Way can manage surface water sustainably’.

Currently, the local authority are consulting the public on their new proposals, which are part of a wider plan to transform the city centre.

Image: Naja Bertolt Jensen