Cleaner seas for Ireland's North Coast due to Scott Wilson Group

BASINGSTOKE, UK, Nov. 12, 2007 -- Costing £45 million, the North Coast Wastewater Treatment Scheme -- with work near Coleraine -- is one of the most intricate wastewater schemes to be completed within Northern Ireland.

Scott Wilson Group plc., an international multi-disciplinary consultancy group, was responsible for civil, structural, architectural and landscape design, along with town planning services, for the scheme, which was officially opened this week by Regional Development Minister, Conor Murphy.

In a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and a popular tourist destination, the North Coast Scheme was designed to comply with the latest EU Urban Wastewater Treatment and EU Bathing Waters Directives. Castlerock Strand, Portstewart Strand, Portrush Mill and Curran Strand, four of Northern Ireland's most popular beaches, are benefiting greatly from the bathing water improvements.

Minister Murphy said, "The North Coast boasts some of the north's finest beaches and the need to safeguard and improve the quality of local bathing waters here is paramount".

Ronan Clancy, Scott Wilson Technical Director comments, "The North Coast scheme was very challenging from a design point of view as it involved so many diverse aspects. We are very pleased to have completed this scheme within such an environmentally sensitive area, through the dedication and skills of all the team involved".

As one of Northern Ireland Water's (NIW) largest investment projects, the existing sewerage system has been completely rationalised and reorganised so that wastewater collected from Coleraine, Portrush, Portstewart, Castlerock and Articlave is transferred to a new two-stage activated sludge treatment process at Craigtown More.

The North Coast Wastewater Treatment Works, between Portrush and Portstewart, has been designed to have minimal impacts on the surrounding area by careful integration of the structure within the natural landscape. Excavated material from the site has been used in the landscaping to reduce the visible effect of the scheme.

At Craigtown More the wastewater will be treated to a higher standard to comply with EU legislation, before being discharged offshore through a new 1,275m long sea outfall pipe. This transfer system will place the treated effluent at a location off the coast at Port Gallen, where the depth and natural currents will provide effective dispersion.

In addition to the new treatment works and the refurbishment of eight pumping stations, the scheme involved positioning 25km of pumping mains and gravity sewers. Eight new innovatively designed pumping stations have been designed to be in keeping with the North Coast's high tourism credentials. Causeway Street pumping station in Portrush for example has been partially buried so is integrated into the landscape to provide an attractive amenity area for the local community.

Scott Wilson Group plc (www.scottwilson.com), with over 5,500 members of staff, is an international consultancy offering integrated professional services in the transportation, property, environment and natural resources sectors. The group has doubled in size over the past few years and from its UK headquarters currently controls a worldwide network of 80 offices, of which 40 are in the UK. The main international centres are located in China, Hong Kong, India, SE Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Southern Africa.

Considerable progress has been made over the past year with a significant number of high profile contract wins. These include the East London Line, Airdrie Bathgate Rail Link, London Crossrail, Three Counties Alliance, Combe Down Mine Stabilisation, Bahrain Islands Developments, and Greece Ionian Motorway.Scott Wilson was awarded 'New Company of the Year' at the 2007 UK PLC Awards, 'Major Firm of the Year' at the 2007 NCE/ACE Consultants of the Year Awards, 'Best Investor Relations for a New Issue' at the Investor Relations Magazine Awards 2007 and 'IPO of the Year' at the 2006 Shares Magazine Awards.

###