NI Water’s Rural Wastewater Investment Programme (RwwIP) has reached a major milestone with the completion of its 200th project at Moneyglass Wastewater Treatment Works, near Toome.

The RWwIP was set up in 2008 to tackle the upgrade of some of the 900 small wastewater treatment works across NI which serve rural populations below 250 people.

As with the majority of the RWwIP upgrades, at Moneyglass, a modern, fully enclosed treatment system was installed to replace the old open concrete tanks on the same site. Not only is the new system more efficient and effective, but its smaller footprint and partially-buried design offer a more visually pleasing layout adjacent to St. Ergnat’s playing fields.

Commenting on the milestone, NI Water’s Senior Project Manager, Will Gibson said:

“We’re proud to have completed our current programme of upgrading rural wastewater treatment works. The upgrade at Moneyglass is both the 24th project in this latest phase and the 200th completed since the programme began. Since the launch of the RWwIP programme 18 years ago, we’ve invested £55m in upgrading small rural wastewater facilities, supporting the development of rural communities while protecting and improving their local environment.

“Together, our 200 completed schemes now have the capacity to meet the wastewater treatment needs for the equivalent of 26,000 people. This has been possible thanks to years of close collaboration with our framework partners, BSG Civil Engineering and McAdam Design, both local companies who have played a vital role in meeting Northern Ireland’s infrastructure needs.”

The benefits of the RWwIP have been delivered across the length and breadth of NI, and where