Irish Water will start work next week on pipelines and pumping stations as part of the Cobh Town Networks Contract– the next step to eliminating raw sewage in Cork Lower Harbour.

Cobh Town wastewater will be collected in this sewer network and pumped via the estuary crossing to Shanbally Wastewater Treatment Plant for safe discharge to Cork Lower Harbour

The Cobh Town Networks contract includes the construction of 5 pumping stations and approximately 7 km of sewer pipes required to end the practice of raw sewage discharging from 19 outfall pipes around Cobh Town, directly into Cork harbour. Construction work will on sewer pipes and pumping stations at 4 locations around Cobh in October and is expected to take approximately 2 years to complete.

Farrans Sorensen Joint Venture is carrying out the work on behalf of Irish Water.

The 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 the contract are completed in 2021, the raw sewage from Cobh Town’s public networks will be treated, completing the connection of 20,000 homes and businesses to the Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project.

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 south side of the harbour so that wastewater from Ringaskiddy, Crosshaven, Carrigaline, Passage West and Monkstown is now being treated.”