Mutton Island ‘can handle growth’ of Galway City over the next five years

From the Galway City Tribune – There is sufficient capacity in the Mutton Island treatment plant to deal with Galway City’s planned growth over the next five years, the City Council has insisted.

Councillors raised concerns at a meeting on the City Development plan last week about the capability of the wastewater facility in the Claddagh to deal with the sewage in the city, where the population is predicted to grow by 40,000 by 2040.

They were commenting on the submission from Irish Water which stated that the capacity for further development in the Merlin Park catchment was “extremely limited until the ongoing project to provide additional storage is completed”.

“This will impact the Ardaun Local Area Plan,” the public utility company points out.

Councillors Declan McDonnell (Ind) and Alan Cheevers (FF) queried the level of development, particularly in the Ardaun corridor, without a definitive date for an upgrade of Mutton Island and a pumping station in Merlin Park.

City Chief Executive Brendan McGrath told councillors that Irish Water were at an advanced stage of planning for the Merlin Park pump station, with work likely to being on that in 2024, well in advance of any major housing developments coming on stream in the Ardaun area.

He told the meeting that the wastewater plant in the Claddagh was capable of dealing with a population equivalent (PE) of 170,000 and it was currently handling 103,256 – giving it a spare capacity of 67,000 PE.

Senior Planner Helen Coleman said Irish Water had clearly stated that there was sufficient capacity in Mutton Island for the duration of the next plan.

Councillor Peter Keane (FF) said in a recent briefing with Irish Water, councillors were told that an assessment of wastewater needs was to begin in 2024 and there was no commitment given that a new pumping station would be built on the east side that year.

Senior Planner Caroline Phelan said two pre-planning meetings had been held with Irish Water about the so-called Ardaun Merlin Park wastewater scheme and it would be built during the lifetime of the plan.

The first stage of residential development in Ardaun was dependent on the facility being built.

“We have an obligation not to zone land unless the wastewater can be dealt with. The wording [in the draft plan] was delivered after consultation with Irish Water,” she stated.

She also pointed out that revised housing targets had been included in the plan for the Ardaun area to reflect these capacity concerns.