Storm water chamber for Dunoon’s Brandon Street

Scottish Water is about to start work on the construction of a large storm water chamber in the grassed area at the foot of Brandon Street, Dunoon.

The chamber will contain an overflow screen which will operate in periods of heavy rainfall and the screen will minimise the environmental impact of storm overflow discharges in storm conditions to East Bay. This work is expected to be completed in about three months.

Scottish Water’s contractors GMJV will start work on this part of the project alongside continuing progress on other parts of the Dunoon Waste Water Improvements Scheme.

The entire scheme is expected to cost about £34m and be completed in late 2011.

The scheme will remove a large number of untreated sewage discharges which currently flow into the Holy Loch and the Clyde and will provide biological (secondary) treatment at a modern treatment plant.

GMJV have also just started work at Holy Loch where Scottish Water is installing a pumping station with an attached Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO), or storm overflow, at the Holy Loch Caravan Park at Hafton. This work will also be completed in about three months.

Jane McKenzie, Scottish Water’s regional community manager, says: ‘During construction at Brandon Street and at Holy Loch there will be some noise but we will do everything possible to minimise disruption.

‘We have liaised with the caravan park and again will do everything possible to keep disruption to a minimum.

‘Scottish water would like to thank all affected residents, visitors and road users in advance for their co-operation, patience and understanding while we progress with this important work to improve the area’s waste water infrastructure’.

The work at Brandon Street and Holy Loch will form part of a chain of seven pumping stations which will pump sewage from the top of Holy Loch to the Dunoon Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) being constructed at Bullwood.

At West Bay, which will be the biggest pumping station in the chain, the company says it is making good progress and has started work on a shaft or well which will collect sewage before it is pumped to the WWTW. This work, which will be completed shortly, has caused some noise disruption and Scottish Water is grateful to customers for their patience and understanding.

It is excavating a well in rock at the East Bay pumping station adjacent to Coal Pier and has started construction of sewers and a pumping station at Ardnadam.

At the site of the new WWTW at Bullwood, contractors Black & Veatch, have started the construction stage and recently laid the foundations for structures which will form part of the WWTW.

Project Manager, Doug Fowler, says: ‘We are continuing to make good progress with this key environmental project for Dunoon and are pleased to have started the work at Holy Loch and to be starting the work in Brandon Street.

‘Our construction activity is now in full swing on the chain of pumping stations and likewise at the site of the new Waste Water Treatment Works, where we have successfully completed the largest of our concrete pours’.