Uncertainty over when €55m Athlone drainage plan will proceed

Question marks remain over when a massive overhaul of local wastewater infrastructure will get underway, with both Westmeath County Council and the Department of the Environment expressing uncertainty this week over the timeframe for the Athlone Main Drainage Scheme. The €55m project is one of the largest and most significant initiatives on the county council's agenda. It includes an increase to the capacity of the town's waste water treatment plant and an upgrade of the sewer network that would eliminate ongoing discharges of untreated sewage into the River Shannon during times of heavy rainfall and would help to reduce flood risks in the town. The Main Drainage Scheme was initially expected to begin in 2011, but a spokesperson for the Department of the Environment told the Westmeath Independent this week that it was not in a position to give an expected timeframe for the commencement of the work. This comes after the Government significantly scaled back its capital project commitments for the next five years in a document published recently. Meanwhile, Greg Duggan, senior engineer in the council's Water Services Department, said the local authority was "awaiting approval from the Department of the Environment Community & Local Government for the composition of the contracts to deliver the overall Athlone Main Drainage Scheme." The scheme is divided into five contracts which will cost an estimated €49.2 million. Additional non-contract costs such as design fees, land acquisition, legal costs and site investigations bring the total price tag for the scheme up to €55.4 million Mr Duggan said the council was required to contribute towards some of the costs but the local authority's precise contribution has not yet been agreed with the Department. He added that the scheme's first two contracts were considered to be the highest priorities. Contract One is scheduled to include: the construction of an Abbey Road tunnel sewer; a new main lift pumping station with storm storage at Golden Island; two Shannon tunnel sewer crossings; a West Bank connection; and a new rising main to the existing Athlone waste water treatment plant. The first contract is also due to include phase one of the upgrade of the waste water treatment plant and the decommissioning of the existing Golden Island pumping station and Abbey Road pumping station. Contract Two concerns the Creggan area - the possible home of a €1.4bn China trade hub. The work covered in this contract includes a new Creggan pumping station, a rising main to the existing waste water treatment plant and a gravity sewer under the railway track for future connections. The third contract relates to the town's sewer networks and includes a canal sewer tunnel, West Side tunnel sewer, sewer rehabilitation works and the decommissioning of remaining, redundant pumping stations. The last two contracts that form part of the scheme are are "more long-term" and might not happen until several years after the initial three contracts, Mr Duggan said. Contract Four consists of a further expansion to the capacity of the waste water treatment plant, while Contract Five involves surface water sewer schemes.