Millions of pounds are currently being spent by Yorkshire Water upgrading sewage treatment works.

Special efforts are being made to clean up the East Coast with the aim of building a series of modern treatment works as part of the £120 million Coastcare programme unveiled in January 1997.

Although day-trippers and holidaymakers continue to flock to Whitby, Scarborough, Bridlington and Filey, the resorts have lived for many years with the legacy of outdated and outmoded Victorian sewage disposal methods.

The system constructed at the turn of the century simply involved disposing of raw sewage through short pipes, called sea outfalls. For decades, those taking a bracing dip also had to brave sewage waste, which was regularly washed back on to the beaches.

Yorkshire Water says it started to tackle years of neglect in coastal sewage treatment by improving collection systems and introducing longer sea outfalls during the 1980s and 1990s.

But the company realised it needed to provide modern treatment works at the four resorts by 2000 if it was to meet the European Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. Schemes for the smaller resorts of Staithes, Runswick Bay, Sandsend and Robin Hood's Bay have also been brought forward to 2000 from the European Union deadline of 2005.

Scarborough's £27 million sewage treatment works at Scalby Lodge Farm on the Heritage Coast north of the town has been designed to resemble farm buildings, allowing it to merge into the landscape.

Meanwhile, the nearby Scalby Mills pumping station has largely been built underground and extensive landscaping work has been carried out to minimise its impact.

The four-stage sewage treatment process at Coastcare sites includes a preliminary or screening stage to remove plastics such as panty liners, condoms and sanitary towels, as well as debris such as grit, pieces of wood and rag washed into sewers, mainly from roads.

Sewage is then allowed to settle in large tanks, where the solids are removed as sludge. This is treated and disposed of on agricultural land as fertiliser, at landfill sites or through incineration.

Another process then comes into action, where naturally-occurring organisms feed off the wastewater and help purify it.

Finally, ultra-violet light - described by Yorkshire Water as the "ultimate clean-up" - is used to kill off any remaining bacteria before the wastewater is discharged into the sea via a new mile-long sea outfall.

Kevin Whiteman, Yorkshire Water's wastewater business director, said: "Our investment will help improve the quality of our local bathing waters, which will provide a welcome boost for the East Coast's tourist trade and the people who live and work here in these popular resorts."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.