Public Consultation Report on Wastewater Treatment Plant

Monday, April 16, 2012

The Greater Dublin Drainage Project Team today published the Public Consultation Report ‘Alternative Site Assessment Phase One: Preliminary Screening Outcomes Report, October 2011 on www.greaterdublindrainage.ie.

It outlines all the issues raised in the more than 10,000 submissions received from local people and other stakeholders during the project’s non-statutory public consultation held from October to December last year as part of the process of finding the most suitable locations for a new regional wastewater treatment works, a new marine outfall and a new orbital sewer.  

Every submission was reviewed by the Project Team and their specialists to identify the key areas that need to be taken into account before a preferred location is identified for the vital new wastewater infrastructure, which will be needed in addition to the existing regional wastewater plant at Ringsend, which is currently planned to be extended to its full capacity. 

Among the issues raised in the submissions received to date are: archaeology and cultural heritage, community impact, construction impacts, ecology and protected habitats, shellfish waters, health and odour impacts, livelihood concerns, agronomy, agriculture and horticulture, the need for the project, overburdening property and land values, road infrastructure and traffic/road safety, technologies and treatment levels, sludge treatment, water quality, the outfalls, and the planning process. 

 Peter O’Reilly, Project Engineer, Fingal County Council said today that the Greater Dublin Drainage Consultants hope to be ready to announce the next stage of the Project, which includes 3 emerging preferred sites and the associated pipeline and outfall corridors next month, down from the nine land parcels identified last October. 

These emerging preferred site options are currently being examined in further detail. “The announcement of the shortlisted preferred sites will mark the start of another eight weeks of public consultation with people living in the communities affected and all other stakeholders. 

This non-statutory public consultation will continue for eight weeks and everyone will be invited to take part and to give their views on the sites that will be on the shortlist”, Peter O’Reilly said. Extensive further studies will be carried out over the summer and autumn on the emerging preferred site options, before one preferred site, outfall location and pipeline route is selected towards the end of the year, as being the most suitable to go forward to seek planning approval from An Bord Pleanála. 

At that stage, An Bord Pleanála will carry out its own statutory public consultation, so there will be opportunities for people to be consulted and involved again at that stage, before the final decision is made by the independent Bord,” Peter O’Reilly said.

The new regional wastewater treatment plant is needed in addition to the Ringsend plant, which is currently planned to be extended to its full capacity at which it will be able to treat wastewater from the equivalent of 2.1million people. 

The regional plant in north Dublin will initially be one third the size of the Ringsend plant. It will treat 350,000 population equivalent in 2020 when the plant opens and will be capable of treating up to 700,000 population equivalent when it is at full capacity by 2040. (Population equivalent includes wastewater from industries, hospitals, schools, offices, businesses etc as well as homes.)

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