An £80 million environmental scheme to bring cleaner seas to a large section of the Kent coast is under way.

Work has begun on a sewage treatment project to serve the towns of Margate and Broadstairs.

The Southern Water scheme is expected to take until autumn 2007 to complete when wastewater from 93,000 residents will be fully treated in line with stringent European guidelines before being released out to sea.

The company’s contractor, Black and Veatch/Costain (BVC), is setting up compounds at existing Southern Water sites at Foreness Point, Margate, and Weatherlees Hill, near Sandwich.

BVC is also starting to install compounds and fencing along the route of a twin pipeline, which will be built between the two sites.

Keith Jeffery, Southern Water’s project manager, said: "I am delighted that this project, which will bring enormous environmental benefits to the area, is now under way.

"During the next few weeks we will be removing topsoil along the pipeline route with the aim of starting to lay the pipes themselves during the summer.

"We will work on different sections of the pipeline simultaneously so we can complete the work as quickly as possible."

When the project is complete up to 20 million litres of wastewater will be treated every day at a new sewage works, built alongside Southern Water’s existing plant at Weatherlees which deals with wastewater from Deal, Ramsgate and Sandwich.

Wastewater from Margate and Broadstairs will be transferred 11km to the new works via one of the new pipelines.

At the new plant it will undergo a series of treatment processes including ultra-violet disinfection.

Once treated, the wastewater will be sent back to Margate via the second parallel pipeline for release 1.9km out to sea at Foreness Point.

The company’s existing Foreness Point works will be refurbished and linked via a 2.8km pipeline to the existing works at North Foreland, Broadstairs.

Archaeologists are being given access to the construction site to search for artefacts. Any items of interest will be excavated and recorded to ensure the local archaeological heritage is preserved.