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Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project

Wastewater

The major upgrade underway to the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment plant will enable it to treat the increasing volumes of wastewater arriving at the plant to the required standard, enabling future housing and commercial development.

Project Background

Wastewater from Dublin has been treated in Ringsend since 1906. Built in 2005, the current plant is the largest in Ireland and was designed to cater for an equivalent of 1.64 million people. The Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant (WwTP), which provides over 40% of Ireland’s wastewater treatment capacity, is currently overloaded and is not in compliance with the EU’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. The average daily load received at Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant in 2019 was 1.98 million population equivalent with peaks well in excess of this.

Location
Ringsend, Dublin
Status
In Progress
Type
Wastewater

The major upgrade that is now underway will allow the Ringsend WwTP to treat the increasing volumes of wastewater arriving at the plant to the required standard, enabling future housing and commercial development. The project will deliver, on a phased basis, the capacity to treat the wastewater for a population equivalent of 2.4 million while achieving the standards of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive. 

Uisce Éireann is working to provide infrastructure to achieve compliance with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive for a population equivalent of 2.1 million in the second half of 2023. When all the proposed works are complete in 2025, the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant will be able to treat wastewater for up to 2.4 million population equivalent while meeting the required standards.

What is involved in the project?

The project is being progressed in stages to ensure that the plant continues to treat the wastewater (1.98 million population equivalent) to the current treatment levels throughout the delivery of the upgrade. The project comprises four key elements and underpinning these is a substantial programme of ancillary works:

  1. Provision of additional secondary treatment capacity with nutrient reduction (400,000 population equivalent);

  2. Upgrade of the 24 existing secondary treatment tanks to provide additional capacity and nutrient reduction, which is essential to protect the nutrient-sensitive Dublin Bay area;

  3. Provision of a new phosphorous recovery process; and

  4. Expansion of the plant’s sludge treatment facilities.

What is happening now?

Uisce Éireann has this week reached an important milestone in its major upgrade of the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant with the commencement of operations of the new 400,000 population equivalent extension at the plant. 

The Capacity Upgrade facility began accepting flows for treatment last month (November 2021).  This facility will enable current treatment levels to be maintained during the remainder of the upgrade of the existing secondary treatment tanks. 

Construction of the Capacity Upgrade at Ringsend WwTP

Construction of the Capacity Upgrade at Ringsend WwTP July 2019

Works Completed and Next Steps

​Works is proceeding on the upgrade of the 24 existing secondary treatment tanks to provide additional capacity and nutrient reduction, which is essential to protect the nutrient-sensitive Dublin Bay area.

Works on the first of four contracts to upgrade the secondary treatment tanks at the plant with Aerobic Granular Sludge (AGS) Technology commenced in November 2020 and was recently completed in December 2021. The addition of AGS technology will allow more wastewater to be treated to a higher standard within the existing tanks.

In September 2021, the second contract was awarded to the CAW-TES-Farrans Consortium. Construction works on the second contract commenced in November 2021 and is expected to take approximately 2 years to complete.  

In November 2021, the third contract was awarded to Ward and Burke Water Ltd. Construction works are anticipated to commence in 2022.  

These contracts are phased to ensure that Ringsend WwTP can continue to treat wastewater from the homes, businesses, schools and hospitals of the Greater Dublin Area at current treatment levels throughout the upgrade works.

In March 2021, the contract for the construction of the Phosphorous Recovery Facility was awarded to Murphy International Ltd. Construction is expected to take approximately two years. The Phosphorous Recovery Facility will be built within the confines of the existing Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant. It will operate in tandem with the Aerobic Granular Sludge technology being installed in the wastewater treatment plant, to reduce the levels of phosphorous being discharged into the lower Liffey Estuary. This will safeguard the environment of Dublin Bay, and ensure that the plant operates in compliance with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive standards.