1 June 2018
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
Irish Water investing €11m to develop Drainage Area Plans in Cork with a view to improving wastewater network performance, protecting waterways and planning for future population growth and economic development.
Irish Water is investing €11m to develop Drainage Area Plans for Cork City, Ballincollig and Midleton which will help to improve the performance of the wastewater network, protect the environment and facilitate social and economic development over the coming years.
Contracts have recently been signed by the utility to carry out extensive surveying and mapping of the existing wastewater treatment network in these areas. Parts of the network are very old – dating back to the start of the last century – and much of it has never been mapped previously.
The information gathered from this project will enable Irish Water to identify areas where urgent repair or upgrade work is required and to effectively plan its investment in the wastewater treatment network so that maximum value for money can be achieved while also protecting the environment, preventing sewer flooding and facilitating future population and economic growth.
The works will involve using CCTV to survey and assess the condition of over 135km of sewers, mapping an estimated 8,000 manholes, and monitoring the wastewater and rainwater flows in the network.
The surveys, which will get underway this month, will be focussed on key areas such as flooding locations, pumping stations and wastewater treatment plants, areas of predicted future growth and locations experiencing operational issues at present.
Sean Twohig, Capital Programmes Regional Lead with Irish Water, commented: “This work is part of Irish Water’s commitment to protecting Ireland’s waterways and coastal areas and ensuring that the wastewater infrastructure is in place to support population growth and economic development. Much of the sewer network is in poor condition due to its age and decades of under-investment. In addition, only a small portion of it has been accurately mapped and assessed to determine its condition.
“Data gathered from this project will allow us to improve the wastewater treatment network across Cork by identifying the areas most urgently in need of upgrading and allowing us to plan our investment so that we can meet the needs of these Cork communities now and into the future.”
This project forms part of Irish Water’s investment plan. Works have been prioritised to address the most critical issues in line with commitments outlined in Irish Water’s Business Plan. Delivery of the business plan will involve a €5.5 billion investment in capital spending on drinking water and wastewater quality and capacity and new infrastructure up to 2021.
