Using their experience in the water debate Surfers Against Sewage are proposing that installing state of the art, tertiary level sewage treatment at Portrush could cost less than the lower level secondary treatment option currently being discussed. SAS are therefore challenging sewage treatment planners to prove them otherwise.

The DRD Water Service plans to install secondary level sewage treatment to deal with effluent from Portrush, Portstewart, Coleraine and Castlerock. The resulting effluent will then be discharged through a newly built long sea outfall from Portrush.

The Water Service has costed the treatment works at £36 million. They have also said that to upgrade the level of treatment to full/tertiary will cost a further £2 million, but they are not proposing to include this extra treatment.

Surfers Against Sewage believe that to install full/tertiary treatment could in fact cost less than the £36 million outlined by the Water Service. By adding UV disinfection (full treatment) on to secondary level treatment you negate the need to build a long sea outfall as the treated effluent is clean enough to meet the guideline standards of bathing water legislation so could be discharged through a short sea outfall.

Jersey Water worked on this principle when they opted for full treatment at their secondary level Bellozanne treatment works in 1992. Rather than spend £11 million to build a long sea outfall they invested £2 million in applying full treatment in the form of UV. The capital costs involved in building long sea outfalls are thought to be considerably high and in this case were seen by the company as completely unnecessary if they applied full treatment instead.

Failure to meet the EU's guideline standard on bathing water quality this summer at Portrush (East) and Portstewart beaches has reiterated the importance of having the right sewage treatment solution in place when the North Coast Wastewater Treatment programme is finalised by planners.

The failure of the 2 beaches means they will lose their prestigious Blue Flag status for next summer's bathing season.

Richard Hardy, Campaigns Asst. at Surfers Against Sewage says: "We want the Water Service to look again at their planning proposal as we believe replacing secondary with full treatment will make the building of a new long sea outfall unnecessary. Not only could this make the works cheaper but it will also make the effluent cleaner. Sewage effluents after secondary treatment still contain large populations of micro-organisms including bacteria and viruses, some of which are capable of causing disease.

A sewage works that has full UV treatment would ensure the local beaches receive the coveted Blue Flag year after year and build on the region's popularity as a tourist and water sports haven".

For further information please contact Richard/Vicky on Tel: 01872 553001 or Mobile: 07817 401480, or Andy Hill at Troggs Surf Shop on Tel: 028 70825476.

Back