Press Release
For Immediate Use
9 May 2005
Re: Moville Greencastle Sewerage Scheme
Donegal County Council have been given approval by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to proceed with the planning stages of the Moville and Greencastle Sewerage Scheme. This scheme will involve sewer networks and pumping stations to serve both towns. There will also be a Sewage Treatment Works with a capacity of up to 7,000PE to treat the sewage generated by the two towns (PE stands for population equivalent which is the total of resident population, institutions and industry).
The scheme is required to remove the existing raw sewage discharges into the Bredagh River and Lough Foyle, to comply with EU Directives and to provide infrastructure for the development of Moville and Greencastle. The standard of treatment required will be assessed with reference to the various EU Directives (such as the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, the Shellfish Waters Directive, the Bathing Waters Directive and the Water Framework Directive), the Water Quality Management Strategy for the Foyle Catchment and Lough Foyle and also government policy.
It is government policy to provide a minimum of secondary treatment of sewage and further tertiary levels of treatment if required. Donegal County Council is successfully operating a tertiary treatment works at Carndonagh with levels of bacteria in the treated sewage low enough that would allow any receiving water pass the bathing water standard for Blue Flag beaches.
It should be noted that the Water Service in Northern Ireland are implementing a Stg£16M upgrade of the Sewage Treatment Works for Derry City at Culmore to secondary treatment standard of 150,000 PE capacity with the treated sewage discharging to Lough Foyle.
Donegal County Council are in the early stages of implementing this project for Moville and Greencastle and public consultation is a key part. A meeting was held with residents from the vicinity of the proposed sewage treatment works on the 13 April. As part of the Environmental Impact Assessment process further formal and informal consultation will take place with the residents of Moville and Greencastle and other interested parties.
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