Kennedy – £8m Investment in Benone benefits economy and environment
05 February 2015 9:36
The recently completed wastewater infrastructure will improve the bathing water quality in this strategically important tourist area.
At the heart of the huge investment was the construction of this state-of-the-art wastewater treatment works on a Greenfield site - previously-owned by the Ministry of Defence - located off the Point Road in Magilligan. Designed for population projections to the year 2030, this modern new facility will now treat all sewerage flows from Oughtymoyle, Drumavalley, Aughil, Benone, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) facility and HM Prison Magilligan, before discharging the final effluent to the North Channel via a new outfall pipe at Magilligan Point.
Speaking today at the new Magilligan Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW), Danny Kennedy said: “This vital project is good news on both an environmental and economic level. The local watercourses, including Lough Foyle and the bathing waters at Benone Strand, will significantly benefit from this major investment in the area.
“The new treatment facility will serve this popular tourist area well for many years to come and the infrastructure improvements will also ensure compliance with foreseeable European standards.
“I congratulate the team involved in the successful delivery of this major project.”
Explaining more about the overall Benone Area Sewerage Scheme and the wider benefits it will bring to the locality, Dermott McCurdy, Head of Wastewater Capital Delivery at NI Water added:
“In an overhaul of the existing arrangements, all current wastewater treatment works at Aughil, Drumavalley and those operated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and HM Prison Magilligan, were converted to modern new pumping stations. These pumping stations will now transfer all wastewater and stormwater to the new Magilligan WwTW for effective treatment before being discharged to sea through the new outfall pipe at Magilligan Point.
“NI Water went to great efforts to reduce the short and long-term impact of the project on the local community, and we would like to thank the public for their patience throughout this essential programme of work.”
At the new pumping stations many of the highly-visual above-ground buildings were demolished as part of this scheme and tanks were brought as close to ground level as possible. At Magilligan WwTW, the control building has been designed with a curved roof to echo a traditional agricultural building and was finished in a subdued ‘field-pattern' colour to integrate with its surroundings. All spoil excavated from the Magilligan site has been reused in landscaping the area around the new works to help ensure the plant blends in with its surroundings.
The Benone Area Sewerage Scheme is just one of many projects making up an investment of approximately £2m per week by NI Water to deliver a 21st century infrastructure for the whole of Northern Ireland. BSG Civil Engineering was the contractor for this major scheme, with AECOM providing design and technical support.