7 April 2018
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Irish Water is working in partnership with Cork County Council to deliver an upgrade to the Millstreet Wastewater Treatment Plant (WwTP).
To progress the project, Irish Water has submitted an application for a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) which is essential to deliver this project. Irish Water has been liaising with all landowners to keep them updated on the project. Consultations have been on-going with the landowners whose lands has been identified on the proposed scheme. Irish Water was unable to acquire all of the required wayleaves and lands on a voluntary basis and has now submitted an application for a CPO.
This project involves the decommissioning of the existing wastewater treatment processes, which will be replaced with a modern wastewater treatment plant constructed on adjacent vacant lands. The new wastewater treatment plant will cater for a future population equivalent of 3,220. The new WwTP will have capacity to treat the equivalent of over 2,500 wheelie bins of sewage.
The existing WwTP is currently operating over its design capacity. The new plant will provide increased treatment capacity and facilitate future development within the town. This project will improve water quality in the Tanyard Stream and River Finnow the discharge quality of treated water from the plant will be improved.
The project will include the new treatment plant and associated infrastructure including a storm water storage tank, preliminary treatment equipment, secondary treatment tanks, 1.3km of new sewer pipes along Station Road to bring the treated wastewater discharge to the River Finnow and replacement of the existing Mount Leader Pumping Station.
The investment in the Millstreet Wastewater Treatment Plant will ensure that Irish Water is fully compliant with the EU Urban Wastewater Directives. Investing in Ireland’s wastewater infrastructure is a key priority for Irish Water. Between 2014 and 2015, Irish Water invested €166m in Ireland’s wastewater infrastructure, an increase of 22% from 2011 to 2013. From 2016 – 2021, the remaining period of the Irish Water Business Plan, the utility is ramping up investment to spend an average of €326m per year on wastewater infrastructure. The investment in the Millstreet Wastewater Treatment Plant is part of this investment programme.
Commenting on the project Mark Murray, Infrastructure Programmes Lead for Irish Water in the Southern Region, said “Investment in a new Wastewater Treatment Plant in Millstreet will benefit the environment as the level of wastewater treatment at the new plant will be greatly improved along with the quality of the treated water discharged from the plant. The new plant will support future development in the town as it will be have the capacity to treat a greater amount of wastewater. The improved wastewater treatment will ensure that the plant is complying with EU Urban Wastewater Directives.”
Irish Water collects wastewater from over 1,000 separate communities connected to the wastewater network and treats around 1,600 million litres of wastewater daily before discharging it back into our rivers, harbours and coastal areas. By 2021, as outlined in the Irish Water Business Plan, we plan to have all discharges to our rivers and seas treated before being released. Our programme of work will include, not only improving capacity to ensure Irish Water can facilitate the growth of the new homes and industry but also protecting our coasts, which has a huge impact on tourism and local businesses.
