Work to start on treating Cobh sewage
Works are to begin next week to stop sewage discharging from pipes into the waters around Cobh.
The Cobh Town Networks contract will start on Monday and includes the construction of five pumping stations and approximately 7km of sewer pipes required to end the practice of raw sewage discharging from 19 outfall pipes around the coastal town, directly into Cork Harbour.
Works are expected to begin at four locations around Cobh with construction of sewer pipes beginning in the West Beach/East Beach area of the town centre and the R624 at Ballynoe, while works commence on the pumping stations at Old Town Hall, Lynch’s Quay and at Station Carpark.
The works will take approximately two years to complete.
Déaglán Healy, Project manager for Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project, said: “When we started construction of this project in 2015, the equivalent of 40,000 wheelie bins of raw sewage was discharging into the harbour every day.
“We are now treating the equivalent of 30,000 of that 40,000 wheelie bins figure by completing the Shanbally Wastewater Treatment Plant and pipelines and pumping stations on the southside of the harbour so that wastewater from Ringaskiddy, Crosshaven, Carrigaline, Passage West and Monkstown is now being treated.
“We are committed to working with the local community in Cobh to minimise the impact of these works. I would encourage Cobh residents and businesses to contact the project team and register for regular project updates at corklowerharbour@water.ie to help us keep you informed as we work together to clean up our harbour.”
Works on the pipelines and pumping stations as part of the Cobh Town Networks Contract are planned to commence next week, 7 October. This contract is part of the Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project, which represents an investment of €144 million by Irish Water, working in partnership with Cork County Council, to end the decades-long practice of discharging raw sewage directly into Cork Lower Harbour.
When works on this contract are completed in 2021, the raw sewage from Cobh’s public networks will be treated, completing the connection of 20,000 homes and businesses to the Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project.