Every aspect of life in Northern Ireland depends on the services NI Water provides. By supplying clean, fresh water and safely managing wastewater, it safeguards people’s health, underpins economic growth and protects the environment.
It’s fundamental role underpinning everyday life in Northern Ireland along with the ambition to build on its track record & deliver against targets, means NI Water has had to become increasingly innovative and creative in finding new solutions and better ways of working.
It was this thinking that drove the company to invest in major projects which not only saw them open a spectacular solar farm consisting of 24,000 solar panels, but also two large constructed wetlands; all with the aim of becoming a more environmentally friendly and ‘greener’ company.
NI Water is the province’s largest user of electricity and operates nearly £3 billion worth of assets, all working to provide 570 million litres of clean drinking water and recycling 340 million litres of used water safely back to the environment. The company is therefore very aware of the impact on the environment, the contact with nature is 24/7, much like the business.
With the world’s focus on the increasing risks to our environment, NI Water believes that its’ role starts with providing energy neutral solutions that will form an important part of future operations. Some of the flagship projects consist of:
Stoneyford Constructed Wetland;
Castle Archdale Constructed Wetland; and
Dunore Solar Farm in Antrim to power an entire water treatment plant.
While these are not the only green solutions the company has implemented, they are prime examples of the efforts and lengths the company is willing to go to reduce carbon footprint. Their commitment is to operate as efficiently and cleanly as possible, safeguarding the environment for future generations.
Wetlands
Wetlands are nature’s infrastructure and in the Year of Infrastructure 2018, it is easy to think of cement and steel, but nature has its own way of producing cleaner water and wastewater and this comes in the form of a wetland.
NI Water maintains and manages many wetlands from fully functioning Integrated Construction Wetlands (ICW) in Stoneyford and Castle Archdale to the pond at Duncrue that forms part of its educational programme for children visiting the Belfast Wastewater Treatment Works.
ICWs are designed, built and operated by man but are based on processes that occur naturally within indigenous wetlands providing an environment where the interaction of the wetland and the plants cleanse the wastewater.
They were developed to treat wastewater from many sources and have been used throughout the UK and Ireland for many years. They have a well proven, track record and have shown to lower cost, have a very low energy requirement & lower maintenance against the alternative treatment processes. This is set against a large footprint and effectively a population limit where the scale of footprint is no longer practical to procure.
NI Water encourages its engineers to think outside the box and to integrate wetlands into it’s water and wastewater processes. In 2014, the company set out to build an ICW. This £1.3 million project was at Stoneyford in County Antrim and was to be a flagship project for the company in the hope to produce an industry-leading example of how wastewater treatment can be integrated into and complement the local ecosystem.
This environmentally-friendly solution was required as the current treatment works in the village was nearing the end of its useful life and needed to be replaced. Completed in 2014, it was particularly suited to this rural area and built to accommodate the future development needs of the Stoneyford village, while promoting flora and fauna in a natural ecosystem.
This was the first time this method had been used in Northern Ireland and a much-anticipated solution for NI Water, as well as its stakeholders. It was an important step towards the development of more environmentally sustainable solutions and they developed this particular site into an asset for the local community.
Turning focus on the Castle Archdale site, the second ICW by NI Water, it marked an important and significant step towards the development of more environmentally-friendly solutions to wastewater treatment.
It will deliver improved wastewater treatment, whilst creating an aesthetically-pleasing area, rich in biodiversity, and potentially an educational resource.
The Castle Archdale ICW contains just over 13,000m2 (3.25 acres) of wetland ponds and can accommodate seasonal fluctuations in flow and is therefore ideally suited to the Castle Archdale area. Wastewater flows from the settlement pond through the densely planted treatment ponds under gravity flow. As the water progresses through each pond it becomes cleaner as pollutants are removed by natural biological processes.
Altogether, the wetland planting comprises around 20,000 plants of emergent species within the treatment ponds and settlement ponds; native trees along the perimeter of the site and grass seeding, the most prominent plant species within the ponds are Iris pseudacorus (yellow iris), Glyceria maxima (reed sweetgrass), Typha latifolia (cattail) and Carex riparia (greater pond sedge).
NI Water is confident that it will accommodate the future development needs of the Castle Archdale area and it is available for the public to be at one with nature, enjoying the flora and fauna as part of the beautiful surroundings.
Dunore Solar Farm
Dunore point Solar Farm is NI Water’s single largest investment in renewable energy. This successful project is the culmination of a number of years of engagement with renewable energy developers and Northern Ireland Electricity Networks.
This major scheme involved work on a 33 acre site on the eastern shore of Lough Neagh and is expected to save over half a million pounds annually in energy costs for the company.
As well as meeting the energy needs of the Dunore Water Treatment Works (WTW), the project will also enable the company to contribute spare capacity to the grid.
Dunore is the third largest site in terms of energy consumption accounting for 7% of the company’s annual usage. The project is a major step toward reaching the company’s goal of increasing electricity consumption from renewable sources from the current 13% to 40% by 2021 and will also save around 2000 tonnes of carbon every year.
Listed below are a number of facts that outline both the scale and impact of the project to NI Water and indeed the local economy:
Dunore Point WTW:
- Dunore Point consumes typically 18-22,000,000 kWh of electricity per annum.
- This is the 3rd largest site by consumption in NI Water
- This accounts for 7% of the company’s annual electricity usage
- Supplies potable drinking water to Antrim and Belfast.
- The site is connected to the electricity grid at 33,000 volts.
Dunore Point Solar Farm:
- Located on 33 acres of land adjacent to Dunore Point Treatment Works
- Total investment of circa £7 million.
- Benefit to NI Water operational costs of circa £567,000 per annum.
- ROC incentive will contribute circa £360,000.
Constructed using:
- 24,000 solar panels
- 136 invertors
- 3 transformers 415v to 33,000 volt.
- 2 33,000 volt switchboards
- Capable of generating c5,500,000 kWhrs / year – equivalent to 1500 homes
- Est. 4,200,000 kWhrs / year will be consumed at Dunore with remaining electricity exported to grid. This equates to approx. 20-25% of the electricity consumed by Dunore Point WTW.
- Reduces NI Water Carbon Footprint by 2000 Tonnes CO2e.
- Land can still be used for gazing
- Biodiversity of the site has been enhanced through use of wild meadow seed mix
NI Water recognises the opportunity that recent and future change in the electricity market and associated technologies represent. The Dunore Solar Farm is an important element in the company’s strategy to continue to deliver improvements for customers and the environment.
As Northern Ireland’s largest electricity consumer, reducing their greenhouse gas emissions is an essential mitigation measure. The Dunore solar PV array is an important contributor to NI Water’s wider aspiration of becoming a sustainable business and takes the company towards their 40% target of power consumption from renewable sources by 2021.
Conclusion
April 2017 marked ten years since NI Water’s formation and in that time, they have transformed the organisation by driving down efficiencies and operating costs.
Much of what they, and other water companies across the UK deliver, takes place underground or out of sight. In 2016/17 NI Water invested £154m to maintain and improve treatment works and networks and delivered record levels of wastewater compliance with water quality compliance remaining at near record levels.
NI Water has just entered the fourth year of an ambitious six year business plan, which sets out how the company will grow value and trust by being world class. Analysis by Ulster University Business School indicates that NI Water is benefiting the local economy to the tune of £440 million per year. Over a six-year period to 2021, it is estimated that NI Water will pump £2.5 billion to the local economy, positioning NI Water as a major contributor to Northern Ireland’s Gross Value Added (GVA).
The challenge for the organisation is to continue to deliver what matters for the people of Northern Ireland while also working hand in hand with the environment it operates in.
Looking ahead, NI Water understands the necessity to become climate resilient. Working in partnership with customers, stakeholders and suppliers, NI Water is managing the unavoidable impacts of climate change to its business through a combination of adaptation and mitigation.
