A new waste water treatment plant in Spiddal will end the discharge of untreated sewage into Galway Bay, Irish Water has said.
Irish water say that 600 wheelie bins worth of raw sewage is being pumped into Galway Bay every day, damaging the waters’ environmental purity and value as an amenity to the area.
A planning application has been submitted with Galway County Council for a new plant on the site of the existing Údarás na Gaeltachta plant that will treat the equivalent waste of 1,000 people.
As well as the new plant, the Spiddal Sewerage Scheme will involve the construction of an underground pumping station with a mechanical plant and storm water storage tanks. New pipes will also have to be laid down to bring raw sewage to the treatment plant, and the treated water to the marine outfall.
Spiddal has been named in the past as not complying with the European Waste Water Directive for pumping untreated waste water directly into the bay. The Spiddal Sewerage Scheme is one of 20 new plants planned for Ireland to combat the pumping of untreated waste into the ocean.
If planning permission is granted, work could begin on the new plant in 2019, with an estimated completion in 2021.
At a public meeting in April Irish Water laid out their plans for the new plant, which they claim will bring real improvements to local beaches at Trá na mBan and Céibh an Spidéil.
As it stands, the continued pumping of untreated sewage straight into Galway Bay threatens the attractiveness of the area for building homes, using the water as an amenity, and other economic development.
