Irish Water nearing completion of €144m Cork Lower Harbour sewage project

IRISH Water is nearing the completion of a €144 million project to eliminate the discharge of raw sewage into Lower Cork Harbour.

The Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project was set up to collect and treat the wastewater from a number of East Cork towns and villages before safely discharging it to the sea through an outfall at Dog Nose Point.

The areas involved include Ringaskiddy, Crosshaven, Carrigaline, Passage, Monkstown, and Cobh, with over 20,000 homes and businesses now connected to the overall scheme.

The project first began with the building of the Wastewater Treatment Plant at Shanbally from 2015 to 2017 and is now in its final stages.

The completion of the project means that the equivalent of 40,000 wheelie bins of raw sewage no longer discharges daily to the waters of the harbour.

In an update, Irish Water said that several other projects are also progressing in Cork with works for the Cork Mid-West Sewerage Scheme now underway.

The €27 million investment will provide new sewerage schemes in Coachford, Innishannon, Ballyvourney/Ballymakeera and Dripsey.

Other projects currently underway include the Castletownbere Sewerage Scheme, the Mallow Sewer Network, and the upgrade of the Bandon Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Irish Water said that plans are also progressing for work on the Ballycotton, Castletownshend, Whitegate Aghada, Inchigeelagh, and Mitchelstown sewerage schemes as well as upgrades to Castlemartyr, Boherbue, Macroom and Midleton treatment plants.

“Having a modern, sustainable, and functional wastewater network in Cork is critical in order to protect our environment and to support housing and economic growth in the years ahead,” said Niall O’Riordan of Irish Water.

“Continued investment will be required in the coming years to build a modern, fit-for-purpose wastewater network but we are confident that we are on track to achieving that aim.” The update was announced by Irish Water as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its latest Urban Wastewater Treatment Report this week.

The report showed that 34 towns and villages around the country release raw sewage into the environment every day, and a third of these will continue to do so after 2024.

12 large towns and cities did not meet wastewater treatment standards set to protect the environment.

It said that while Irish Water is making progress in resolving environmental issues and the number of priority areas has reduced from 148 to 97 over the past four years, there is still a long way to go to bring all deficient treatment systems up to standard.