Work to start on Ballycotton scheme to end daily discharge of raw sewage into bay

Equivalent of almost 900 wheelie bins full of raw sewage discharged into the bay each day

Works will include the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant above the village, the construction of two new below-ground pumping stations — one at Ballycotton Pier and the other at Cow Lane, and the laying of some 1.4km of new pipeline. Picture: Larry Cummins

Work on a €16m scheme to end the daily discharge of the equivalent of almost 900 wheelie bins full of raw sewage into an environmentally sensitive bay is set to start within weeks.

Uisce Éireann confirmed the massive Ballycotton sewerage scheme in East Cork will be advanced in stages and could take until the middle of next year to complete.