There is plenty in the pipe

On-going investment totalling some £254M is being made in major wastewater

and environmental improvement projects in the north of Scotland.

Catchment area

The Moray Coast Clean-up Project is another Catchment scheme, to build and operate

three separate STWs at Lossiemouth, Buckie and Banff/Macduff. This project,

the biggest public sewerage scheme undertaken along the Moray coast for more

than 100 years, is nearing completion. When fully operational it will serve

55,000 people and end disposal of sewage into the Moray Firth.

Aberdeen’s £80M wastewater treatment project, which will treat sewage

and handle sludge from Aberdeen, Stonehaven, Peterhead and Fraserburgh, is currently

being commissioned. The £14.5M WTW at Loch Ashie brings fully treated

water to Inverness for the first time. It has been built to supply drinking

water to approximately 70,000 customers in the city, North Kessock and Nairn.

The island towns of Lerwick, Stornoway and Kirkwall will receive some of the

most remote infrastructure investments. Lerwick, on Shetland, will receive an

STW; at Kirkwall, on Orkney, there will be new primary, followed by secondary

treatment plants and a new outfall; Stornoway on the Western Isles will also

get a new STW, outfall and collection system.

Major water and wastewater projects costing over £81M are currently underway

in the east of Scotland. The £45M Levenmouth STW is a PFI project due

to be handed over in 2003. The new STW will handle some 12,000t/pa of sludge

that would previously have been discharged into the Firth of Forth. UV treatment

is being used to ensure low bacterial and viral levels.

The Kirkcaldy Waste Water Treatment Works, designed to service a combined residential

and industrial population of approximately 61,000, is due to officially open

later this year. A new secondary treatment works, which incorporates the original

headworks at Pathead has been constructed. Treated effluent will be discharged

to sea via the original outfall pipe.

Costing £10M, the Berwickshire Coastal Strategy, which is being implemented

in stages, is a far-reaching scheme to upgrade existing wastewater facilities

at various locations along this stretch of eastern coastline. Prior to the scheme,

the majority of sewage discharged into the sea was untreated.

Work at St. Andrews, due to be officially opened this summer, involves a new

storm management system in the town, three new storm tanks and the upgrade of

two existing storm tanks to include 6mm screens. The final phase of the project

included the construction of a new state-of-the-art STW on the outskirts of

the town at Kinkell Ness.

A new Newport/Tayport STW, currently in the planning and development stages

will replace existing outfalls discharging untreated effluent. The Waterway

Consultancy has been commissioned to undertake a detailed feasibility study

to identify the treatment options for the catchment area of Newport, Wormit

and Tayport, and carry out an environmental study of the area.

More than £100M will be invested in a new treatment plant and service

reservoirs on the outskirts of Glasgow (WWT, January 2002).

This scheme is one of the largest single capital investment projects of its

kind undertaken in Scotland.

Until the latest round of European water quality directives, little treatment

was required for the water supply from Loch Katrine. However, West of Scotland

Water which started the project last year, gave the Scottish Executive an undertaking

that water supply regulations will be met by December 2005. Approximately 400

Ml/d of water from Loch Katrine are treated at the existing Milngavie WTW, which

handles 80% of the water supplied to the population of Glasgow.

The Katrine project comprises two main elements: a new WTW located near the

existing Craigmaddie and Mugdock reservoirs and Milngavie WTW, and a new service

reservoir on the northern fringe of the city.

In addition, new pipelines will be laid to convey water to and from the new

treatment facility and the storage reservoirs. The environmental sensitivity

of the project meant intensive work by the old water authority and now Scottish

Water to reassure local residents the site will not pose them serious problems.

Gus Watt, manager of the Katrine Water Project said the Milngavie site had

been chosen from 17 possible locations, adding: “The project team is mindful

of the great historical legacy of the Loch Katrine system left to us by the

Glasgow City fathers and it is certainly our intention to build upon this.

“It is a well known fact that Loch Katrine water has a reputation for

its clarity and purity. The high quality water has served the people of Glasgow

well and at a very low cost. However, with the application of new regulations,

the existing level of treatment will not conform to the required standards.”

The contractor is Stirling Water which comprises MJ Gleeson, management and

contracting; Thames Water, treatment process design; Montgomery Watson Harza,

civil engineering consultancy. Construction is expected to begin during summer

2002 and should take 33 months to reach the commissioning stage. It is expected

to take a further six months before the works becomes fully operational.