Bristol opens its doors to give residents a peak at city's inner workings

Bristol has opened its doors to residents to allow them to have a sneak peak at the city's inner-workings, which includes a tour of sewage treatment works in Avonmouth.

Have you ever wondered how a city deals with the copious amounts of waste generated by residents? Well thanks to Bristol's annual Heritage Open Days, dwellers of the south western city can now find out, with an open day at  Avonmouth sewage works, which is proving to be particularly popular with the locals.

Last year upwards of 300 people toured the Wessex Water plant, which is fed by Bristol's four major sewer systems and treats the sewage of more than a million people. Small groups are taken on tours around the site, which usually last around 90 minutes.

During the tour, residents find out about how waste is treated from when they flush the toilet right up to when it is released from the water works.
They will also learn how the site manufactures fertiliser out of sewage sludge and uses the waste gases generated to power the plant.

Avonmouth sludge supervisor Jon Price said feedback from the day is usually overwhelmingly positive. "People are just naturally inquisitive," he told This is Bristol. "We all go to the toilet, flush the chain and it's gone.

"Not everybody realises what has to be done to treat the sewage."

The Open Doors days have proved immensely popular in Bristol, and it gives people a unique insight into how a city functions. This is something that is seldom offered elsewhere, and the residents are always quick to jump on the opportunity to see parts of the city they wouldn’t usually see.

Over 60 venues are opened during the event which wouldn’t usually be open to the public. If waste management isn’t your thing, then the recently refurbished St James' Priory – Bristol's oldest surviving church – could be a more suitable alternative.