The Raymond Priestley Centre, an outdoor activity centre owned by the University of Birmingham, is located on the shores of Coniston Water in the Lake District National Park. It offers year-round courses for university staff, students, and guests from other institutions, sports clubs, and corporate groups.

Due to its remote location, the centre needed an off-grid wastewater management system this is then discharged into the surrounding environment. The existing wastewater treatment system, installed in the early 1970s, consisted of a septic tank and a soakaway system; treated water is then discharged into the surrounding environment.

With the centre's increasing popularity, the system was in danger of becoming outdated and unfit for purpose as visitor numbers increased. As the centre experienced fluctuating numbers of visitors throughout the year, the system had to be flexible enough to manage varying demands.

ARM Ltd addressed this by enhancing the existing system with a Forced Bed Aerated™ vertical downflow reedbed placed between the septic tank and the soakaway system.

After consulting with the Environment Agency, ARM refurbished the soakaway and installed an aerated reedbed that matched the site's surrounding areas, to ensure the reedbed would be visually pleasing. The aeration system offers consistent performance, while treatment capacity and power consumption could be adjusted at the centre's discretion.

The new aerated reedbed system increased the treatment capacity, needed to handle the varying loads throughout the year. The reedbed also reduces the need for ongoing maintenance by site staff, making it a cost-effective and time-saving solution considering the remote location.