The £45 million North Coast Wastewater Treatment Scheme for Northern Ireland Water (NIW) was officially opened by Conor Murphy MLA on 7th November 2007. RPS, together with its joint venture partner, provided technical and project management services from concept through to construction, commissioning and handover. The project was procured and delivered on a Design and Build basis1.
The scheme is now operational, and included the construction of a new Wastewater Treatment Works, the refurbishment of four, and construction of eight new pumping stations, laying of 24km of pipeline and construction of a 1250m sea outfall. Four of Northern Ireland’s most popular beaches: Castlerock Strand, Portstewart Strand, and the Portrush Mill and Curran Strands (as well as the water in the tidal stretch of the River Bann), benefit. The new activated sludge plant2 should comfortably accommodate future growth in the area until 2030 -representing a population equivalent of 107,000.
Causeway Street
The main pumping stations are situated at prominent coastal and town centre locations, so the project team developed aesthetically-pleasing solutions which integrated effortlessly with their surroundings and also provided amenity benefits. The Dhu Varren Pumping Station, near West Strand, incorporates much-needed public convenience, baby and water sports changing facilities. Causeway Street Pumping Station, in the town centre, has been mostly buried and creatively landscaped to provide an attractive recreational area and preserve maximum green space; The new pumping station at Lansdowne has a public viewing platform to take in the breathtaking coastal views.
To promote sustainable construction, Dhu Varren, Causeway Street, Riversdale and Articlave Pumping Stations were all constructed with shafts using precast concrete segmental lining rings. Trenchless technology was used where possible during pipelines installation, and the sea outfall was installed using two off-shore rigs3.
Planting at Causeway Street
The programme of works was carefully planned to minimise disruption, particularly during peak tourist seasons. Monthly stakeholder meetings, regular site visits and progress reports during the construction phase ensured that public bodies, interest groups and the general public were all kept fully informed.
Meticulous planning to address the complexities in commissioning the scheme helped to ensure its operational launch in May 2007: ahead of the main bathing season. Speaking at the opening event, Katharine Bryan, NIW Chief Executive paid tribute to all involved, saying “I’d like to pay tribute to the strenuous efforts of NIW staff, our project managers and the contractors in reaching this goal.”
For more information please contact:
RPS Belfast (Elmwood House) – Planning & Development
T: +44 (0) 28 9066 7914
1 - Under an NEC Option C Target Contract with Activity Schedule.
2 - Designed to provide treatment capacity for 59,079m3/day (FFT)
3 - Techniques used in the scheme’s engineering included sliplining, microtunnelling, pipejacking and auger boring.