Irish Water, in partnership with Galway County Council, is investing €5.6m in new Wastewater Treatment Schemes for Claregalway and Milltown. 5.2km of a new foul sewer collection system has been completed and the construction of two new treatment plants is due to start in early May.

The project is expected to be completed by April 2016.

The towns of Claregalway and Milltown currently have no Municipal wastewater treatment facilities and rely on individual treatment systems within housing developments and septic tanks. This has given rise to significant environmental issues and a deterioration of the water quality in the River Clare.

Works will include the construction of two new treatment plants in Claregalway and Milltown, four new pumping stations, the upgrade of 3 existing pumping stations and the connection of housing estates to the new foul sewer collection system which is already in place.

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Once completed the project will greatly improve the water quality of the River Clare and protect the conservation objectives of the River Corrib Special Area of Conservation. The treatment capacity of each plant will also meet current and future residential and industrial development. Claregalway is identified in the Galway County Development Plan in the top tier of planned future residential development centres in the county.

Sean Corrigan, Regional Information Officer, North West Region, Irish Water said; “This is an important project for the communities of Claregalway and Milltown and will deliver key environmental benefits with a high standard of wastewater treatment, capable of protecting the water quality of the River Clare. Irish Water is investing in a national programme to address the serious deficiencies in our wastewater infrastructure. We have inadequate treatment processes and in some cases untreated wastewater is being discharged directly into our rivers and waterways. This is unacceptable in a modern developing economy. Investment such as this in Claregalway and Milltown is long overdue and our priority is to ensure we identify and deliver projects that can yield the greatest benefit for the communities we serve.”

Irish Water invested €340m in improving water and waste water services in 2014 and will invest over €410 million in improving water services during 2015. This spend will increase over subsequent years. Capital investment in the region of €600m per year is required for a sustained period of several decades, to address the acknowledged deficiencies in the country’s water infrastructure.