Progress report on critical infrastructure for west Mayo town
Uisce Éireann has issued a progress report on plans to provide a wastewater treatment plant and outfall at Newport.
It stated: "In 2014, Uisce Éireann inherited 44 (later increased to 50) areas where raw sewage was discharging untreated into the environment.
"Many of these were complex projects to plan and deliver and three of them were in Mayo (Belmullet, Killala and Newport).
"Given the scale of the challenge faced by Uisce Éireann to address this problem in 50 locations and the level of investment that would be needed to address these discharges, Uisce Éireann needed to prioritise the areas with the largest volume of sewage being discharged which was having the biggest impact on the environment.
"Since 2014 we have built new wastewater infrastructure for 34 towns and villages across the country, ending the discharge of raw sewage into the environment. In addition to the 34 completed sites, we currently have seven locations under construction across the country.
"This means 41 out of 50 locations either have brand new infrastructure in place or currently have projects under construction.
"There are plans for the rest, prioritising the areas where it can make the biggest impacts first.
"Two projects have been completed in Mayo (Belmullet and Killala). Newport remains to be done.
"Newport currently has two historic septic tanks which do not provide effective treatment for the wastewater generated in the town.
"UÉ plans to decommission these septic tanks and build a new wastewater treatment plant and a marine outfall for treated wastewater.
"This will ensure that Newport complies with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive while at the same time allowing the economic growth of the town.
"The Newport WWTP is currently at Preliminary Business Case (currently Stage 2) where we will develop a short list of solutions, identify the preferred option and calculate an estimated cost.
"As we work through this stage, it should be understood that the planning and consenting process which must be followed to allow us to build this plant has become more complex since UÉ was established.
"A significant amount of data gathering, surveys and assessments are required to support the various consenting processes.
"Detailed assessments of existing outfalls, and marine modelling of receiving waters are also now needed to meet planning requirements for projects such as Newport."