Irish Water has also confirmed it has signed a contract for the first facility in Ireland to recover phosphorous from wastewater.
The upgrade of the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant is essential in order to enable future housing and commercial development and help to ensure that Dublin is able to sustain continued growth in the medium term. The project will deliver, on a phased basis, the capacity to sustainably treat the wastewater for a population equivalent of 2.4 million while achieving the standards of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.
Phosphorous is a valuable finite resource and this facility will enable it to be recovered and processed for use as a fertilizer in agriculture. The provision of a phosphorus recovery process is a key element of the project strategy to achieve compliance with the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.
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The Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant, which treats approximately 40% of Ireland’s public wastewater, is currently overloaded and is not in compliance with the EU’s Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive.
Jean Hobbs, Project Manager with Irish Water, said: "Having adequate wastewater treatment infrastructure is essential to safeguard the environment and to facilitate housing and commercial development. This latest contract is a key part of the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Project and highlights Irish Water’s commitment to sustainability and resource recovery in the treatment of wastewater.
"Phosphorous is a finite resource which has real value in agriculture and other sectors, so its recovery in this way will not only help protect the water quality in Dublin Bay, but is also in line with the principles of a circular economy and resource recovery."
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.
