The Anglian Water trial sewage barge on the River Ouse heading towards Ely. Picture: Ian Burt

Anglian Water has abandoned plans to use barges to transport sewage along the River Ouse and other waterways.

Instead, it plans to build a new pumping station at West Lynn, to reduce the number of lorries taking sludge to its treatment plant at Clenchwarton.

The company is holding a public exhibition in the village on Monday evening. It will showcase the water company’s plans for a new pumping station, to be built near the Pullover roundabout at the junction of the A47 and A17.

Officials say the scheme, if granted planning permission, will reduce the amount of road traffic driving to the treatment works in the village.

Instead, liquid sludge will be unloaded from tankers at the new site, and pumped to the treatment works on Clockcase Lane through a 4km pipeline buried underground.

The sludge is then treated at the facility, and used to generate energy which powers the site.

Surplus energy is exported into the local grid.

“We’ve been keeping local communities in Clenchwarton and West Lynn informed about our plans as they’ve developed,” said Steve Swan, Anglian Water’s project manager.

“But we know some questions are best answered face to face.

“That’s why we’re holding this exhibition – to answer any remaining questions, and to outline what our programme of works will be, if we are successfully granted planning permission for this project.”

A planning application is being considered by Norfolk County Council, and it is hoped a decision will be reached early in the summer. Work should then begin in August, with construction and commissioning complete by April 2014, if land purchase and development all run to schedule.

Anglian Water had previously investigated transporting sludge to the site on barges, using the region’s waterways.

But escalating costs lead to that option being shelved last year, after a trial-run on the Ouse.

The exhibitioon is being held at the Memorial Hall, in Clenchwarton, between 4pm and 7pm on Monday.