Scotland

Scottish Water Starts £25m Loch Ryan Project

Loch Ryan Port Rodie Construction has begun on Scottish Water’s £25m Loch Ryan project to bring a modern waste water treatment system to Stranraer, Leswalt, Kirkcolm and Cairnryan.

Contractors Leslie MWH will be working in a variety of locations over the course of the scheme.

They are currently concentrating on the construction of a new pumping station at Port Rodie, with work soon to start on the simultaneous construction of the new treatment facility near Smithy Hill.

Work is also taking pace to determine the best route for the underground pipework that will be used to move waste water to the new treatment plant and then transfer the treated effluent to the northern channel of the Irish Sea.

Stephen Hepburn, Construction Manager for Scottish Water, said: “This is great news for the area. After years of studies and surveys to assess the best option for an extremely difficult civil engineering challenge, Scottish Water is removing the permanent discharge of waste water to Loch Ryan.

“The waste water from the surrounding communities will receive a greater level of treatment than is currently provided.”Loch Ryan Smithy Hill

He said: “The construction work will have a minimal effect on local residents and businesses. We will continue to extensively consult local people and groups in the region as we have in the previous year.

“This consultation ensures our project progresses in harmony with the various community interests in and around Stranraer.”

The project will see the demolition of the existing waste water treatment works (WWTW) at Port Rodie and the retirement of three WWTWs at Cairnryan, Leswalt and Kirkcolm.

“With the exception of Cairnryan, the waste water from the settlements around Loch Ryan will be pumped to a new waste water treatment works at Smithy Hill. This works will perform primary and secondary treatment,” he added.

A long outfall pipe will transfer the final effluent to the northern channel of the Irish Sea near Larbrax, completely removing the permanent discharge to Loch Ryan.Loch Ryan Port Rodie Pumping Station

He added: “We are in the process of finalising the plan for the outfall. We conducted extensive seabed surveys last September. This work helped us determine the shape, composition and density of the sea bed.

“We have two methods we can use – directional drilling through the rock, or dredging the sea bed and laying the pipe on the sea bed.

“At Cairnryan, a shared facility will serve the needs of the village and the new Stena terminal nearby. This has many advantages – an 8km pumped waste water main is no longer required to Stranraer. A shorter 2km main to the new WWTW will reduce construction costs and total life cost of the project.”

Scottish Water has kept the community informed to date by holding regular local stakeholder meetings, distributing a frequent email newsletter, briefing councillors and council officials and by attending community council meetings. This work will continue over the course of the project.

The Loch Ryan project aims to give the town of Stranraer and the smaller communities

which surround Loch Ryan the same quality of waste water treatment as the rest of  Scotland.

Appropriate odour-control measures will be included at the key points in the process to ensure that odour is controlled to an acceptable level.

Scottish Water is also commencing a rolling programme of work on the waste water network in Stranraer, which will improve the water quality in Loch Ryan and the aesthetic quality of the waterfront.

The overall cost of the programme is £1.6 million and consists of 11 small and distinct projects across various sites in Stranraer.

Stephen Hepburn said: “This work is being conducted separately from the Loch Ryan project, but will contribute towards the environmental benefits that the Loch Ryan project will deliver.

“This initiative is also part of a wider programme to improve water quality across Wigtownshire. The work will also improve the water quality in the Black Stank Burn, the Town Burn and the Sheuchan Burn which all feed into Loch Ryan.”

The programme is necessary to satisfy the legal requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and Shellfish Directive and will deliver significant improvements to the water quality and shellfish environment in Loch Ryan.

The overall construction and commissioning period is likely to be no more than 21 months.

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