Plans have been submitted for a ‘modern and more efficient’ sludge drying facility at Meary Veg, in Santon.
If the application (13/91000/B) is approved, the Water and Sewerage Authority hope work will start in April 2014, and it’s expected to take a year to complete.
The proposal, which went on public display last month, is part of the Regional Sewage Treatment Strategy.
This is aimed at making the Meary Veg sludge treatment facility available to treat sludge from regional sewage plants.
Under the strategy, improvements are being made to existing regional plants and new sewage treatment works and pumping stations being built.
In the planning application, it states: ‘The existing drier is being replaced because it does not have capacity post 2016 to treat the sludge being generated island-wide.
‘The new dryer will take advantage of advances in technology providing the following benefits - operate less hours, use less energy, require less manpower and have capacity to treat all island sludge until at least 2033.’
The authority’s director of operations, Mike Dewhurst, said ‘good progress’ was being made with the strategy’s implementation.
Work is currently underway at Meary Veg to build new covered sludge storage and thickening tanks with an integral sludge import facility.
It’s expected to be completed by April next year.
The new facility will enable the greater volumes of sludge being produced from satellite treatment works to be imported – and is designed to have capacity for current and future developments.
As the sludge will have been treated, it will not need to go through the full treatment process.
It will be settled and thickened in three tanks - before being dried.
The resulting sludge pellets go into the Energy from Waste plant, to produce electricity.
Tynwald approved £39,984,000 to cover the project’s first phase, from 2011-16.
Its objectives are to replace the current outdated and ineffective infrastructure and in doing so bring modern day sewage treatment to the existing sewage treatment works at Patrick, Dalby, Bride, Glen Mona, Glen Maye, Corony, Jurby, Kirk Michael, Booilushag and Maughold, and also bring first time treatment to the catchments at Ramsey and Port Lewaigue.
It also sees improved pumping facilities at the existing Glen Maye, Vollan and Riverside stations.
The works at Patick, Dalby, Bride, Corony, Glen Mona, Glen Maye and Jurby have been completed, and construction is ongoing at Kirk Michael.
Later this year, the replacement of the facilities at Maughold, Booilushag and Port Lewaigue will start.
This will be followed next year by the construction of a new sewage treatment works and associated pumping stations to service the Ramsey catchment.