4k tonnes of sewage to be treated daily in Cork

A hi-tech treatment plant has ended the daily discharge of almost 4,000 tonnes of raw sewage into Cork Harbour — the equivalent of 20,000 wheelie bins full of raw sewage.

Irish Water marked the commissioning yesterday of the new Shanbally Wastewater Treatment Plant near Ringaskiddy — a key milestone in the €117m Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project.

For several years, the equivalent of 40,000 wheelie bins of raw sewage from some 50,000 people living in towns such as Cobh, Carrigaline, Crosshaven, Passage West, Monkstown, and Ringaskiddy has been dumped every day into the harbour through 33 discharge pipes.