To ask the Minister for Infrastructure (i) to outline the water supply and wastewater capacity issues that exist in the Larne area; and (ii) how Northern Ireland Water is working to resolve these capacity issues.

NI Water has advised me that there are no drinking water supply issues in the Larne area. However, there are wastewater capacity issues in Larne in relation to both sewers and the wastewater treatment works (WwTW). The Larne WwTW is experiencing issues associated with its wastewater treatment process. The sewer network cannot convey flows to the WwTW, resulting in spills from the network into the receiving environment through combined sewer overflows (CSOs). CSOs act as safety valves to stop sewage backing up in the sewers during rainfall events which can cause internal flooding in properties. If the CSOs operate more frequently than they should, they are classified by NI Water as unsatisfactory intermittent discharges (UIDs). The causes of these discharges must be addressed to prevent the spills entering the sensitive marine environment.

The alleviation of the capacity issues in Larne will require significant investment in new assets throughout the PC21 (2021-2027) period. Such investment is dependent on factors such as funding, land availability and planning approvals. NI Water has estimated the cost of the required investment at approximately £30 million. NI Water’s proposals involve new sites for treatment facilities, network storage, pumping solutions and opportunities to maximise storm water separation and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) in the Larne catchment. NI Water is also undertaking network modelling, which is due for completion in 2021-22. The modelling is essential for allowing NI Water to correctly size the network solutions. It is also a requirement of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency with whom all NI Water wastewater solutions must be discussed and agreed.