Our gallery shows the process raw sewage goes through at the Grimsbury treatment works.
Clean water campaigners are angry that Thames Water has delayed STW expansion they received payment for, for years, condemning local waterways to more pollution. Thames Water says rising costs meant it could not pay for the Banbury improvements even though it had received funding. See our report here.
1. The waste water team who make it all happen
Thames Water team at Banbury Sewage Treatment Works, l - r Simon Brittain, Head of Waste Operations - Thames Valley; Diana Goodwin, Performance Manager; James Grove, Senior Process Specialist; and Tom Flynn, Process Technician. Photo: Roseanne Edwards
2. How it arrives and how it leaves
Samples of water before the STW process and after Photo: Roseanne Edwards
3. Raw Sewage arrives in the processor
Sewage arrives in the first stage of the treatment process at the Banbury works. Concentrated sewage with chemicals from porta-loos appears much darker than regular sewage Photo: Roseanne Edwards
4. Rubbish extracted from sewage
Skips contain rubbish extracted from the sewage during the straining process. Nothing but human waste and toilet paper should be flushed down the loo Photo: Roseanne Edwards