Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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12 | APRIL 2018 | WWT | www.wwtonline.co.uk The Talk: Events Northern Ireland Water is to operate a Nereda pilot plant in Belfast as it seeks a solution to a capacity crisis at the main wastewater treatment works in the capital. Paddy Brow, the head of the company's 'Living with Water' programme, told the WWT Water Northern Ireland Conference that a £250,000 contract has been signed for a plant to use the biological wastewater treatment technology over a six-month period beginning in March. Brow said that, since 2014, Northern Ireland Water had been looking into Nereda, which has been employed in Europe. The process uses fewer chemicals and less energy, as well as occupying a smaller footprint. "As a company, we're very keen not to be at the bleeding edge of any technology, but to be a fast follower," he told delegates. While the company faces significant funding challenges, the need for a solution at the Belfast plant is becoming urgent, with its original design capacity of 290,000PE and its current use estimated to be around 500,000PE. "We think the absolute capacity of that works with everything running is about 500,000PE, so we're out of capacity," Brow said. He warned that unless the treatment works is upgraded, Northern Ireland Water may no longer be allowed to put in new connections as of 2021, adding: "Today Northern Ireland Water cannot permit new connections to 35 of its wastewater treatment works across the province. Belfast wastewater treatment works may become number 36." The population pressure is even worse than it appears, with Northern Ireland Water's analysis showing that 20-30 per cent of the sewage catchment load in nearby areas does not actually reach the treatment works due to network issues. "If we were to fix the network, we would immediately push the treatment works into non-compliance," Brow said. "We're now in a situation where you can't invest in the sewage networks because that would cause the treatment works to fail, so we have to invest in the treatment works and then do the networks." He added that there is a detailed action plan in place to keep the works in compliance until further funds come in, but warned: "That's going to be increasingly difficult with all the development that's going on in Belfast at the moment. Our first phase is to go in there and increase the capacity." There is no real space for expansion at the current works, but Brow said Northern Ireland Water is hopeful that Nereda can double biological capacity and achieve the more stringent standards expected in the future, as well as proving the most effective whole-life cost solution. Nereda solution to Belfast capacity crisis Venning expressed concern that not enough was being done to challenge the budgetary issues. "I just wonder if we are too accepting as a company, as stakeholders, as a small nation, that the people of Northern Ireland are not being served and not enough noise – if any – is being made about that," she said during her appearance at the conference. "Customers of tomorrow are being disadvantaged by the actions that are being taken." Customer awareness about the water sector in Northern Ireland is relatively low, especially because there is no direct billing for the service. The Year of Infrastructure, then, represents an opportunity to try to raise awareness, and efforts have already been made in recent times to promote NI Water's work, including the decision to open up 20 sites last year to show members of the public around and a schools programme involving a double-decker bus that has reached more than 100,000 children. Public awareness of the company's work is beneficial in the fight for funding, and Venning is determined to get the message out that water requires greater financial support. "Certainly even as we had gone into PC15, there was a clear recognition that the level of capital investment that was available was constrained," she said. "Across the three areas of health, the environment and the economy, we think it's vitally important that we get the funding we need. "We know we're keeping people healthy, but economic growth here in Northern Ireland is a very important area and we are a key enabler for economic growth. If somebody is in manufacturing or in agri-food business, our product and our service is a key enabler for them. If we're underfunded, then potentially their growth plans can be impacted, so for that reason I think it's very important, and for customers too. We're driving down supply interruptions, and you can see the drive across the industry for driving down leakage, all the things people see in their day-to-day life." "I just wonder if we are too accepting as a company, as stakeholders, as a small nation, that the people of Northern Ireland are not being served and not enough noise – if any – is being made about that"