Medway River Basin Catchment

We have developed the first Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan (DWMP) for the Medway River Basin Catchment.

We have 77 wastewater systems in this catchment, with 69 Wastewater Treatment Works, 663 pumping stations and 7,463 km of sewers. We cover 17% of the geographical area (mainly the urban areas and villages including Chatham, Rochester, Maidstone, Crowborough, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells) with 95% of the homes in the catchment connected to our wastewater systems.

Our DWMP sets out our priorities for the Medway River Basin Catchment. These include:

• Reducing the number of spills from the 238 storm overflows which together currently spill around 4300 times per annum.
• Separating or attenuating excess rainwater in the sewer networks to reduce the risks of flooding and frequency of storm overflow discharges, especially in Motney Hill, Ticehurst, Hildenborough, High Halden, Penshurst and Gravesend.
• Investigating the potential impact of wastewater discharges on the Swale and Medway Estuary and Marshes and identify the requirements to achieve Nutrient Neutrality and Good Ecological Status / Potential
• Planning for potential significant developments at Northfleet, Rochester Riverside, Hoo, Chatham Docks, Paddock Wood, Tudley, South Godstone, Ebbsfleet and the Invicta Park Barracks at Maidstone.
• Improving the resilience of our networks and treatment works to prevent pollution incidents, particularly in Tunbridge Wells, Crowborough, Hildenborough and Paddock Wood.
• Reducing the risk of sewer blockages by increasing sewer jetting and targeting customer campaigns to reduce the amount of FOG (fats, oils and grease) and unflushables in the sewer network around Rochester, Gillingham and Chatham.
• Reducing the risk to groundwater by reducing leakage from our sewers in the Sittingbourne, Strood, Rochestester, Chatham, Gillingham and Rainham areas.

All the stages we followed in developing the DWMP for the Medway are set out in the subsections below. Please explore these pages to find out more. You can find detailed investment needs in the tables on the Medway Options Development and Appraisal page.