Overflow Discharge: Smelt Mill Bay

Northern Ireland Water Limited did not have the information requested.

Dear Northern Ireland Water Limited,

Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act, I wish to
receive the following information from your organisation concerning the discharge into Smelt Mill Bay, near Bangor, County Down:

1) What is the purpose of the discharge into the bay ?
2) What is the nature of the discharge into the bay ?
3) How many times a year over the last five years has the discharge taken place ?

Yours faithfully,

Jeremy Cooke

McGlennon, Stephen, Northern Ireland Water Limited

2 Attachments

Dear Mr Cooke

Please find enclosed a copy of our information leaflet and an
acknowledgement letter.

Kind regards.

Stephen McGlennon
Information Management Unit
northern ireland water
15th Floor,

Windsor House
9-15 Bedford Street

Belfast, BT2 7LT

Tel: 02890354813 Ext: 29031
Web: [1]www.niwater.com

Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

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Jeremy Cooke left an annotation ()

Environmental Information Regulations 2004
Thank you for your recent request for information on the discharge into Smelt Mill Bay, near Bangor, County Down.

As your query falls under the definition of an Environmental request NI Water will be replying under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Answering each of your questions in turn NI Water replies as follows:-
1. What is the purpose of the discharge into the bay?
The discharge to the bay is for two reasons:
a. There is a risk during some heavy rainfall events that storm water will discharge from the Combined Storm Overflow (CSO) and into the discharge pipe; and
b. there is an Emergency Relief Overflow (ERO) from Strickland’s Glen Wastewater Pumping Station (WwPS). This will come into operation if there is a failure in the WwPS. These discharges are consented by Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).
Information Management Unit, 15th Floor, Windsor House,
9 - 15 Bedford Street, Belfast BT2 7LT
Tel: 9035 4813 ext 29032
Email: john.collins@niwater.com
Your reference:
Our reference: NIW 61-10-11
request-35837-
110513d4@whatdotheyknow.com
Date 08 June 2010
Dear Mr Cooke,
During periods of heavy rainfall there is a risk of sewers being hydraulically overloaded resulting in back-up within the system and potential out of sewer flooding. CSO’s are an essential and accepted design feature of a combined system to act as a pressure relief valve thus preventing such an occurrence.
The Company is investing £1million per day in water and waste water services. Whilst we are confident, that when this investment programme is complete, such incidents will become less common, it is also the
responsibility of the public to help keep the drains and sewers in good condition by disposing of inappropriate items properly.
NI Water views the protection of the environment as a major priority and invests significant resources and measures in safeguarding it. NI Water is also the only public body in Northern Ireland to have earned
International ISO 14001 status, an international standardisation award based on a company’s environmental management system.
2. What is the nature of the discharge into the bay?
The discharge, potentially during some heavy rainfall events, is a combination of storm water and sewage from the CSO and foul sewage in the event of a
breakdown of the WwPS.
3. How many times a year over the last five years has the discharge taken place?
The Environmental Information Regulations 2004 specify that the right of access is restricted to information held by the organisation; NI Water is therefore not required to create information it does not hold. The number of times there have been spills from the CSO is not recorded by NI Water.
There have been no failures of the WwPS in recent times that would have lead to the ERO being activated apart from an incident on 2 May 2010, when both pumps in the station tripped, causing an overflow. This incident was caused by the pumps being blocked with inappropriate items (rags, wipes etc.) being disposed of incorrectly. NI Water reacted and had the station working again within three hours of being alerted to the fault. NI Water provides the following advice to customers, through its “bag it and Bin it” campaigns, about the dangers of dumping inappropriate items down the toilet or in the sewers.
http://www.niwater.com/siteFiles/resourc...
ent/bag_it_and_bin_it.pdf
This activity causes blockages which are avoidable. Whilst NI Water has a responsibility for the sewerage system, everyone in Northern Ireland can help protect the environment. The advice is simple - Bag it and Bin it, don’t flush it.
You have the right to request that NI Water formally review this response within forty working days of the date of this letter. If you wish to do so, please write to NI Water
Information Management Unit, 15th Floor, Windsor House, 9 - 15 Bedford Street,
Belfast. BT2 7LT
If after such an internal review you are still unhappy with the response, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, CHESHIRE SK9 5AF, who will undertake an independent review.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to
quote the reference number above in any future communications.
The supply of information under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 does not give the recipient or organisation that receives it the automatic right to reuse it in any way that would infringe copyright. This includes, for example, making
multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public. Permission to re-use the information must be obtained in advance from NI Water.
Yours sincerely
John Collins
Information Manager
Northern Ireland Water

Gee, Andrew, Northern Ireland Water Limited

4 Attachments

Dear Mr. Cooke,

Please see attached NI Water's reply to your recent query.

This was sent to the above address on 8 June but for some reason bounced
back (see attached confirmation of delivery failure).

Regards

Andrew

Andrew Gee
Information Officer

Northern Ireland Water
Information Management Unit (IMU),
15th Floor,
Windsor House,
9-15 Bedford Street,
Belfast.
BT2 7EN

Telephone: 02890 354813 Ext: 29017
Fax: 02890 357642 (29030)
Web: [1]www.niwater.com

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