Irish Water hires Royal HaskoningDHV to upgrade treatment plant

Royal HaskoningDHV has been appointed by Irish Water, as part of a consortium, to upgrade the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant. The upgrade will see the plant’s population equivalent capacity expand from 1.64 million to 2.4 million by 2020, leveraging cost effective Nereda aerobic granular sludge technology.

Irish Water’s Ringsend wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), located in suburb of Ringsend in Dublin, provides water treatment to the Greater Dublin Area. The plant was opened in 2003, with an original operating capacity, population equivalent (PE) of 1.64 million. In the years since its opening, increasing regional demand has seen the plant come to provide PE 1.9 million – thereby exceeding its original capacity.

Earlier this year, Irish Water entered a public consultation phase in March on Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Natura Impact Statement (NIS), as part of the development of plans for an upgrade of the plant to a capacity of PE 2.4 million. The plans were recently approved, and a project team has since started the preparation for the plant's enlargement.

Royal HaskoningDHV recently announced that it has been appointed by Irish Water to the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant project team. The firm will provide its expertise in Nereda, an aerobic granular sludge (AGR) technology, which is able to improve treatment efficiency and effluent quality at lower costs than traditional methods. The technological advance allows Irish Water to scrap a €170 million 9 kilometre long sea outfall tunnel for effluent into the Irish Sea, and, instead, leverage the AGR technology to generate similar results at far reduced costs.

Royal HaskoningDHV will work with a consortium, including TJ O’Connor & Associates and J. B. Barry & Partners, to deliver the upgrade by 2020 – assuming planning permission for the project is granted.

René Noppeney, Royal HaskoningDHV’s Global Director for Water Products & Innovation says the firm is “very proud” to be contributing to upgrading one of the world’s biggest municipal wastewater treatment plants in a sustainable manner, through the delivery of expert knowledge on its Nereda technology. He adds, “The use of Nereda would ensure that all wastewater generated in the Greater Dublin Area is appropriately treated to safeguard human health and protect the environment in compliance with Europe’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.”

Royal HaskoningDHV has been providing the technology to a range of projects across the globe, including at three plants in Ireland last year, and in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, prior to the opening of the Olympics.