Ballymore Eustace Water Treatment Plant

RPS was appointed by Dublin City Council in 2004 to complete the detailed design, procurement and construction supervision of the Stage 3 development of the Ballymore Eustace Water Treatment Plant. The development included a combination of existing plant refurbishment and new plant construction to achieve a sustainable output of 318 Million Litres/Day (MLD) (400 MLD peak output).

The critical objective of the City Council was achieve the 318 MLD output as early as possible in the contract period to ensure the increasing water demands of the Greater Dublin Region could be met. This requirement necessitated the construction and commissioning of the new treatment elements in advance of the existing plant refurbishment, while maintaining full operational capacity at the plant throughout the contract period.

Solution

A detailed hydraulic model of the permanent and temporary works was developed to ensure plant capacity was maintained at all times. The design included an extensive by-pass system to facilitate full uninterrupted access to plant elements in case of failure or emergency. The design's core concept sought to conserve head through the innovative use of hydraulic engineering, thereby minimising the energy required to treat the water and maximising the head available to facilitate its distribution throughout the Greater Dublin Region.

The RPS team designed and implemented contracts, which provided a structured sequence of works, target milestones and detailed construction constraints. The construction programme and access arrangements were continually reviewed and optimized through continuous collaboration between the Client, Contractors and RPS. Value engineering proposals were encouraged and implemented where practical.

All contract works were completed without unplanned interruptions. One planned 5 hour plant outage was required for the final treated water outlet connection.