Water Enhancements through Sustainable Treatment (WEST) project
The Water Enhancements through Sustainable Treatment (WEST) project is a cross-border initiative between Uisce Éireann and NI Water which has been set up to address water pollution in Counties Fermanagh, Tyrone, Leitrim, Sligo, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal through catchment modelling and sustainable wastewater treatment.
The project is supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
Working collaboratively, Uisce Éireann and NI Water will strive to improve water quality in Lough Erne, Lough Melvin, and Donegal Bay — areas within the North-Western International River Basin District affected by contaminants from agriculture, forestry, urban runoff and wastewater discharges.
The €32m project will adopt innovative and sustainable treatment technologies at key sites in Ireland and Northern Ireland to enhance wastewater discharges and help improve water quality in these shared waterbodies.
The wastewater treatment sites that will be upgraded as part of the WEST project are located at Ballybay (Co. Monaghan), Belleek (Co. Fermanagh), Blacklion (Co. Cavan) and Garrison (Co. Fermanagh). In addition to enhanced treatment and improvement to water quality, these project upgrades will also include capacity for a minimum of 1,000 additional population.
Running alongside the wastewater treatment plant upgrades, will be an extensive modelling programme (Modelling – WEST project) which will incorporate the sampling of rivers and lakes within the cross-border Erne catchment area. This significant element of the project will capture important data relating to the many different pollution sources exerted on Lough Erne, Lough Melvin and Donegal Bay and will culminate in the production of a strategy to help inform and target future investment for further water quality improvements.
The project is set for completion in 2029.
Uisce Éireann will complete upgrades to two Wastewater Treatment Plants as part of the project at the Ballybay Water Treatment Plant in Co. Monaghan and at the Blacklion Wastewater Treatment Plant in Co. Cavan. For more information on the projects visit the dedicated project pages for Ballybay Wastewater Treatment Plant (Ballybay – WEST Project) and Blacklion Wastewater Treatment Plant (Blacklion – WEST Project).
For further information on the WEST project visit the Project – WEST Project page.
