Tetra Tech provided Northern Ireland Water with an environmentally friendly solution for replacing overloaded wastewater treatment works in the village of Stoneyford, northwest of Lisburn.
Industry-leading wastewater treatment
As the first fully sustainable ICW in Northern Ireland, Stoneyford represents an industry-leading example of how wastewater treatment can be integrated into a local indigenous ecosystem. The new facility is particularly suited to the rural location, and since construction, has matured to create a lush biodiverse habitat of different species of tall reeds, rushes, iris, and sedges.
Intelligent solutions to complex problems
Having assessed conventional treatment options, we developed an Integrated Constructed Wetland (ICW) solution using a natural ecosystem to break down and treat pollutants. Based on processes that occur naturally within indigenous wetlands, two initial settlement ponds and five treatment ponds process wastewater through a complex integrated system in which water, plants, micro-organisms, the sun, substrate, and air interact to improve water quality.
In addition to specialist surveys, hydraulic modelling, and flood risk assessment, we also provided detailed design and project management services to satisfy the onerous discharge consent standards set by the Environment Agency and achieve planning approval.
Award-winning enhancement a local community and its ecosystem
The project won a prestigious ‘Green Apple’ environmental award in 2015 for its “positive contribution to the local community and enhancement of the local ecosystem”. It now processes wastewater for a 1,000-population equivalent catchment area in a fully sustainable, low-cost, low-energy, and low-maintenance alternative to the modern, high technology-based wastewater treatment solutions.
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