NI Water has completed more than £6m of base maintenance at Kilkeel Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW), strengthening environmental safeguards and supporting the site’s ongoing compliance, reliability and performance as the new year begins.

Richard Nevin, Senior Project Manager at NI Water, said: "NI Water is delighted to have recently completed an extensive programme of planned base maintenance at Kilkeel to ensure that the wastewater treatment works continues to maintain compliance, serve the community and protect the coastal environment.

"A substantial part of the work involved the replacement of the old glass-lined tanks which store sludge produced during the treatment process. The tanks were nearing the end of their design life and needed to be replaced to safeguard the environment.

"New concrete sludge holding tanks – equipped with a special protective internal coating – were constructed as part of the base maintenance investment, providing a robust long-term solution to sludge storage at Kilkeel WwTW. The new facility has not only enhanced the level of environmental protection at the site but has reduced transport costs associated with regular sludge removal linked to aging glass-lined sludge tanks.

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"I'd like to thank our operational colleagues and our base maintenance framework partners from Lowry Building and Civil Engineering and McAdam for their work in delivering a wide range of base maintenance improvements at the site while maintaining operation of the treatment works."

NI Water treats over 370 million litres of wastewater each day — the equivalent of about 148 Olympic-size swimming pools or more than four-and-a-half million wheelie bins — through a vast network of gravity sewers, pumping mains and stations, and over 1,000 wastewater treatment works, including Kilkeel.

Commenting on the wider base maintenance programme, Peter Ferguson, Head of Base Maintenance, commented: "Maintaining our wastewater treatment works and ensuring that they work as efficiently and effectively as possible is critical to us supporting everyday living and protecting the environment.

"Working in partnership with our operational colleagues and framework partners, NI Water invests over £25 million each year in wastewater base maintenance projects, prioritising investment where it is needed most.

"Since 2021, I am pleased to say that over 200 projects have been completed by our wastewater base maintenance teams across Northern Ireland. These projects are fundamental to NI Water meeting important environmental objectives and maintaining services for all our customers in Northern Ireland.

"We also rely on the public to play their part in helping to keep our wastewater network flowing by only flushing the 3 Ps – pee, poo and paper. Anything else should be bagged and binned to ensure all the wastewater pipes and pumps remain blockage-free."