NI Water completes £900k Holywood sewer improvement programme

NI Water has completed an essential programme of sewer improvement work, representing an investment of over £900,000 in the Holywood area.

The work involved replacing the existing sewage pumping main between an existing pumping station beside the Holywood Bypass (near Sullivan Close) to the Kinnegar Wastewater Treatment works site.

A new innovative structural spray lining technology was used on short sections of the main to minimise disruption when crossing the A2 carriageway and railway line. This work will enhance the sewerage infrastructure in the area and reduce the maintenance required on the network along this busy route.

NI Water’s senior project manager Peter Ferguson said: “We are delighted to complete this essential improvement programme in the Holywood area, which involved the installation of a new pumping main to transfer effluent from Holywood A Wastewater Pumping Station to Kinnegar Wastewater Treatment Works for treatment.

“This challenging contract took place along the busy Holywood bypass route and also involved extensive pipelaying to improve the existing pipe sections situated at the hard-shoulder of the A2 and under the existing Bangor to Belfast railway line.”

“The team is proud to be the first in Northern Ireland to employ a new innovative structural lining technology, which is a special underground structural lining spray, used to improve sewer pipelines. The new lining helped the team work more efficiently, as well as reducing the impact on this main arterial route between Belfast and Bangor, with challenging constraints involved such as working close to a high pressure gas main and other services.”

PJ McCaffrey, contracts director for GRAHAM, added: “We’re delighted to have completed this complex installation, utilising an innovative approach working with NI Water to reduce the impacts of the works on the surrounding area.

Proactive engagement of key stakeholders was key to the scheme’s success, with complex interface management required to mitigate the significant impacts of road and rail closures as well as to protect the high-pressure gas main, an extremely sensitive element of the works. 

“Our aim is to deliver lasting impact on all of our projects and to transform and improve the built environment for the communities we serve. This scheme is a great example of innovation and our expertise in the water sector and we look forward to continuing our relationship with NI Water on future projects.”

The investment work at Holywood is an excellent example of what can be done when the necessary funding is in place.

NI Water’s goal is to ensure we have a modern, efficient service today and in the future. While chronic underfunding of NI Water is an urgent issue, we are working hard at a local level to find solutions to enable Councils and developers to progress their vision and facilitate future economic development.

NI Water said it is ready to provide engineering solutions to short-term constraints where possible, however we must face the inescapable reality that the full funding identified by the Utility Regulator in its Draft Determination (PC21 business plan) is required to fulfil the vision of economic expansion for our towns and cities.