End put to discharging the equivalent of 40k wheelie bins of raw sewage into Cork Harbour daily

THIS week saw the completion of the Cobh Networks Contract, the final step in Irish Water’s Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project.

The completion of the Cobh works means raw sewage from Cobh town is now treated and the overall project has ended the decades-long practice of discharging the equivalent of 40,000 wheelie bins of raw sewage into Cork Harbour every day.

Déaglán Healy, Project manager of the Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project said: “I’d like to thank all the communities around Cork Harbour and the Cobh community represented by Johanna Murphy, President of the Cobh and Harbour Chamber, Hendrick Verwey, chair of the Cobh Tidy Towns and Noelle Lane, Principal of St. Mary’s National School.

“By ending the discharge of such a large volume of raw sewage into Cork Harbour, this will hopefully allow for the area to grow both socially and economically, and most importantly, it will help to keep our harbour clean.

The project has been recognised by Engineers Ireland as the best Infrastructure Project in their Engineering Excellence Digital Series and is now in the running for the Engineering Endeavour of 2021. To vote for The Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project, visit www.engineersireland.ie

To mark the occasion, Farrans Sorensen Joint Venture, who worked on behalf of Irish Water to deliver the Cobh Networks Contract, asked pupils from national schools in Cobh to submit an entry to their art competition with the theme ‘A cleaner harbour – what it means to me’.

12-year-old Honor Cronin’s drawing from St. Mary’s National School was selected as the winning entry in the competition.

This winning artwork will now take pride of place beside Irish Water’s Old Town Hall Pumping Station, one of five pumping stations and over 7km new sewers completed in Cobh.

Competition winner, Honor said: “I am so proud that my drawing was chosen out of all the entries as the winner of the competition and I’m really happy that it will be seen by everyone in Cobh. 

"I wanted the drawing to show the difference in the water before the work and now that the project is finished and helping to keep the water in our harbour clean for us all to use.”

The project has been recognised by Engineers Ireland as the best Infrastructure Project in their Engineering Excellence Digital Series and is now in the running for the Engineering Endeavour of 2021. To vote for The Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project, visit url=https://www.engineersireland.ie/Professionals]www.engineersireland.ie[/url].