£4.8m upgrade underway at Newry WwTW

27 March 2012 10:47

NI Water has begun an extensive programme of improvements at Newry Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) to increase the treatment capacity and improve the odour control at the Greenbank-based facility.

Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy said: “This is an important program of work involving significant financial investment by NI Water. I welcome the news that elements of the upgrade have now been completed and ongoing work is on schedule.”

Details of the multi-million pound upgrade were given to local councillors and Greenbank businesses during a recent presentation facilitated by the Southern Regional College.

Dermott McCurdy, NI Water’s Head of Wastewater Capital Procurement, told the local stakeholders that central to the £4.8m project was the construction of two large primary settlement tanks which would substantially increase the capability of the treatment works and enable it to deal more effectively with any unexpected discharges to the sewerage network.

Mr McCurdy explained that the treatment works had been commissioned in 2003 to deal with a population equivalent – trade and residential effluent equating to 63,000 people, but that loadings in considerable excess of that amount had been recorded at the works over the last year. The additional flow into the works he said, was putting significant pressure on the treatment processes and on occasions had resulted in foul odours emanating from the works.

Local businesses and councillors were told that a series of improvements had already been carried out to the odour control systems at the treatment works within the last six months, and that a further package of enhancements was planned for implementation before the end of May this year.
“The large primary tanks already under construction will substantially increase the treatment capacity at the works,” said Mr McCurdy, continuing: “whilst the improved biological capability will mean that the plant will be better equipped to deal with any non-consented discharges to the sewerage network. The refurbished and extended odour control process will further serve to alleviate odour problems in the future,” he said.

Closing the presentation, Mr McCurdy advised that the entire programme of improvements was due for completion in November 2012 with the newly-extended treatment works being fully commissioned in December 2012.
He assured local businesses that NI Water and their appointed contractors, Maghera-based BSG Civil Engineering, would continue to make every effort to keep disruption to a minimum throughout the remainder of the contract.