NI Water has completed an extensive wastewater project aimed at improving the quality of bathing waters along part of the Ards Peninsula.

Work on the £18 million Ards North Wastewater Improvement Project started in May 2021 and included the construction of new wastewater pumping stations and pipelines to rationalise and upgrade the wastewater infrastructure in the Carrowdore, Ballywhiskin and Ballywalter catchments.

At the heart of the project was a new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment works (WwTW), constructed by BSG Civil Engineering on a greenfield site, off the Ganaway Road in Ballywalter.

Known as the Ards North WwTW, the new treatment facility has been designed to treat all wastewater flows from the villages of Carrowdore, Ballywhiskin and Ballywalter - as well as local caravan parks - to strict environmental standards before discharging the treated effluent out to sea via a new long sea outfall pipe, constructed off the coast at Ballyferris by Farrans Construction.

Damien McKeown, NI Water Senior Project Manager said:

“This major multi-million-pound project – consisting of the construction of a host of modern new pumping stations, pipelines and treatment works - demonstrates NI Water’s commitment to ensuring that our wastewater network and treatment facilities are of world-class ability.

“The investment made by NI Water will deliver significant environmental improvements, including cleaner beaches and bathing waters and will support long-term economic growth in local development and tourism.”

Paying tribute to the project team, Damien McKeown added:

“It was fantastic to utilise the expertise of two local contractors on the project – Maghera-based BSG Civil Engineering and Belfast-based Farrans Construction and to benefit from their local supply chain to deliver a high-quality wastewater solution. I’d like to thank both contractors as well as our consultant engineers from TetraTech for their efforts in delivering this complex and challenging project within the allocated timeframe and ahead of the 2023 summer tourist season.”

The state-of-the-art Ards North WwTW – which can treat flows from nearby caravan parks - has been expertly designed so that it can deal with the fluctuations in summer and winter populations in the area.

To boost the sustainability of the treatment facility, 138 solar panels have been fitted to the roof of the new control building which will produce over 45,000 kWh per annum. This renewable energy could save NI Water up to £300k over 25 years. Charging points for NI Water’s growing fleet of electric vehicles have also been installed at the new treatment works.

Welcoming the green elements incorporated into the new Ards North WwTW, David McCullough NI Water’s Head of Wastewater added:

“NI Water has an ambitious strategy to address the climate emergency and aims to be be net zero energy by 2030 and net zero by 2040. As the biggest user of electricity and the second largest landowner, we have a unique opportunity to do this by harnessing our assets for a wide range of environmental initiatives.

“The installation of a PV solar system at the Ards North WwTW site and the inclusion of charging points for our electric vehicles (EVs) demonstrates NI Water’s continuing endeavours to reduce our operational impact in a bid to enhance and protect the natural environment.”

Key elements of the £18 million project include:

The new WwTW can treat a population equivalent (PE) of over 8,500 people and treat up to 75 litres of wastewater every second.

• The 55.2 kWp PV solar farm, consisting of 138 PV panels and 2 invertors, will produce over 45,000 kWh per annum which could save NI Water up to £300k over 25 years
• 18,000m of ducting was laid for electrical cables
• 25,000m of cabling laid
• 14km of new pumping main installed and 2km of gravity sewer
• 4 new pumping stations have been constructed at Carrowdore, Ballywhiskin, Sandycove and Ballywalter to transfer flows to the new WwTW.
• The long sea outfall extends 550m off the shore at Ballyferris
• The outfall was constructed on land and floated out to sea where it was filled with water and sunk into position in a pre-dug trench