Big wastewater upgrade in pipeline for Buncrana and Fahan

Uisce Éireann intends to submit a planning application to Donegal County Council seeking permission for extensive upgrade works at the Buncrana and Fahan Wastewater Treatment Plants, along with the construction of a new pipeline linking the two.

The application, which covers a ten-year period, outlines a comprehensive programme of works designed to expand capacity at the Buncrana WWTP to accommodate a population of 17,700 from the town and surrounding areas, the decommissioning of the plant in Fahan and the construction of a six kilometre pipeline between the two along the R238.

According to the notice published in the Inish Times last week, the Buncrana treatment plant on the Railway Road will be expanded to increase its design Population Equivalent (PE) from 13,200 to 17,700. The proposed works include the construction of a secondary treatment tank, blowers with sound attenuation barriers, a pump sump and vent stack, flow meter and valve chambers, an administration building, flood protection wall, two picket fence thickener tanks, and a site drainage pumping station.

Internal upgrades are also planned for the inlet works building, the control and sludge dewatering building, and the outfall pumping station. The primary settlement tanks will be repurposed as final effluent balancing tanks, while the flow distribution chamber and sludge holding tank will be reconfigured.

The project also calls for the replacement of the site access gate with a palisade security gate and the installation of roof-mounted solar photovoltaic panels on several buildings.

Decommissioning and demolition will take place on the existing site drainage pumping station, gas holding tank, picket fence thickener, and sludge digestion tank. Landscaping works, including screen planting, will be carried out alongside all associated site works.

Read more: Work on the first phase of upgrading Buncrana's waste water treatment plant began in 2023. 

The Fahan waste water primary treatment plant at Carrontlieve will be converted into a wastewater pumping station. It has long been operating beyond capacity, which curtailed new development in the village.

The redevelopment will involve the construction of a stormwater holding tank, pump sump and vent stack, valve chamber, inlet flume, surge vessel, wet kiosk, two control kiosks, chemical skid, bunded chemical storage tank, emergency shower, welfare unit and a flood protection wall with gate.

Existing infrastructure such as the site gate and wing walls, septic tank, and preliminary equipment will be decommissioned and demolished. The site access will be materially altered with a new realigned security mesh gate and wing walls, along with reconstruction of an internal access road. Landscaping and ancillary works are also included.

A new 6.2-kilometre wastewater rising main pipeline will be constructed along the R238, connecting the proposed Fahan pumping station to the Buncrana wastewater network.

The notice states that the development is close to the Lough Swilly Special Protection Area, and there is a recorded National Monument in Fahan. Consequently, a Natura Impact Statement (NIS) and Environmental Impact Assessment Report have been prepared.

Submissions or observations can be made in writing to the Donegal County Council, accompanied by the prescribed fee of €20, within five weeks of receipt of the application.