Scottish Water is about to start a major project which will provide clearer, fresher drinking water to about 11,000 customers in Port Glasgow and parts of Greenock and about 7000 customers in the Kilmacolm and Lochwinnoch areas.
More than 18,000 customers in parts of Inverclyde and Renfrewshire will benefit from the £11.3 million investment by Scottish Water in its water infrastructure.
The project, which will be carried out for Scottish Water by its alliance partners Caledonia Water Alliance (CWA), will involve the installation of about seven miles of new water mains between Greenock WTW and customers in these areas.
The installation of the new mains will enable Scottish Water to change the customers’ source of supply to Greenock Water Treatment Works (WTW) from the Kaim WTW, which currently serves the Kilmacolm and Lochwinnoch areas, and the Dougliehill WTW, which serves Port Glasgow and small parts of Greenock.
The Kaim and Dougliehill WTWs, and customers in their supply zones, have experienced water quality issues in the past. Scottish Water’s investment will enable the utility to decommission the two WTWs and provide water from Greenock WTW, which is currently operating below capacity.
At the moment, Greenock WTW supplies about 70,000 customers in much of Inverclyde, including most of the population of Greenock and customers in Gourock, Wemyss Bay, Largs, Millport and Skelmorlie. However, the WTW is running well below its capacity and is able to supply customers currently in the Kaim and Dougliehill WTW supply zones.
CWA will install about 3.5 miles of new water main from the Whinhill Service Reservoir in Greenock to Dougliehill Service Reservoir. A new pumping station will be constructed at Whinhill Service Reservoir to pump water from there to Dougliehill Service Reservoir.
Scottish Water will also install another 3.5 miles of water mains from Dougliehill reservoir to Kilmacolm, which will tie in to the existing water mains in the village.
In addition, the contractors will carry out work to reverse water flows from Dougliehill service reservoir back through Kilmacolm into Lochwinnoch, to be supplied with water from Greenock WTW.
The work will also include the construction of a booster pumping station at Burnbrae near Quarrier’s Village.
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