Our engineers are aiding Northern Ireland Water with its £5 million project to improve sewerage infrastructure in Belfast’s Ormeau area.
This essential scheme will reduce environmental pollution caused by spills to the River Lagan, in addition to reducing out-of-sewer flooding in the sewerage network spanning Ormeau Avenue, Dublin Road, Bruce Street, Sandy Row, and lower Ormeau Road.
Blockages in Belfast’s sewers commonly result from the build-up of fats, oils, and greases, the removal of which can wreak hefty costs. Since the project’s launch in February, however, our team has already made great headway in supporting the scheme as its principal designer, project manager, and supervisor.
Thus far, a new 1200mm-diameter sewer has been tunnelled under Great Victoria Street and Dublin Road, with rainwater separation from combined sewers complete on Adelaide Street, Linenhall Street, and Maryville Street. Further storm attenuation, conveyance, and pumping will be carried out until the project’s anticipated completion in May 2019.
David McGrath, NI Water’s Senior Project Manager, said: “The project will accommodate future growth and development in Belfast City Centre and the wider Dublin Road/Ormeau area, allowing for new connections to the upgraded sewerage network.”
NI Water is an active partner in the NI Year of Infrastructure 2018 campaign, and the Belfast project represents one of its many efforts to raise awareness of infrastructure’s impact on our lives.
John Thompson, Civil Engineer at Tetra Tech, added: “It’s easy to underestimate just how devastating the effects of pollution from our sewerage systems can be to our environment, but it just raises the importance of what we’re doing with NI Water. We all need to be mindful of what we’re discharging, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.”