AQW 14613/22-27
Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim
Tabled Date: 09/09/2024
Answered On Date: 08/10/2024
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail the recent steps his Department has taken to help ensure untreated sewage is not discharged into rivers in South Antrim.
Answer:
My Department’s role is to set policy and provide funding to NI Water in the form of a subsidy, in lieu of domestic water charges. In terms of funding for 2024-25, I have provided NI Water with a total budget allocation of almost £0.5 billion, representing just under 40% of the total non-ring-fenced budget for my Department. This reflects the central importance of water and sewerage services to our society. NI Water has advised that during the PC21 period (2021/22 - 2026/27), proposed investment of almost £12.2m is planned for wastewater infrastructure in South Antrim, to help reduce the risk of untreated sewage entering rivers in South Antrim. A breakdown of this proposed investment is set out in the table below. All future investment is subject to the availability of funding and statutory approvals being in place. Project | PC21 Estimated Investment (£’000) | Glenavy Road Crumlin wastewater pumping station (WwPS) site investigation | 100 | Islandreagh WwPS upgrade | 4 | Dunadry WwPS upgrade | 2,300 | Neillsbrook WwPS upgrade appraisal (complete) | 1,100 | Randalstown terminal pumping station (S01425) - screen under capacity | 5 | 240,242 Lisnevenagh Road, Antrim - sewer study | 37 | The Grange wastewater treatment works (WwTW) - catchment sewerage investigations | 1,100 | Cranfield New WwTW - capacity relief project | 35 | Antrim Drainage Area - Glenavy Road WwPS, Crumlin | 2,700 | Antrim Drainage Area Plan - unsatisfactory intermittent discharge (Phase 1) | 200 | Whitehouse Drainage Area - Sandyknowes WwPS * | 3,000 | Whitehouse Drainage Area - Waverly combined sewer overflow * | 1,600 | | | Total Proposed Investment in PC21 | 12,181 |
* Investment spread across other constituencies
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