Recommendations for the regional treatment of sewage around the Island will go before this month’s sitting of Tynwald.

Minister for Transport David Anderson MHK will seek Tynwald’s endorsement for the IRIS Regional Sewage Treatment Strategy business case report, a scheme which will address sewage treatment for the west, east and north of the Island.

The original IRIS master plan, which was first costed in 1993, involved  transferring all  the Island’s sewage to the Meary Veg Sewage Treatment Plant in Santon, which now treats sewage from 66% of the Island’s population.

However, following a review, Tynwald backed the development of a regional treatment strategy in 2007, with smaller sewage works treating sewage  from those areas currently not connected to  Meary Veg.

Minister Anderson explained ‘The regional approach will allow us to deliver a completed IRIS project three years ahead of the previous

strategy.

'There will also be substantial savings with the regional strategy – approximately ?15 million in capital expenditure, and ?1.2 million in annual operating costs.

‘Towards the end of last year we gave several presentations to politicians and the various major stakeholders regarding the proposed regional strategy.

This was followed by a review  period, which considered various sites for sewage treatment works, as well as looking at the environmental issues associated with each.

‘Preferred sewage treatment options for each area have now been identified, along with preferred sites for the local and regional  sewage

treatment works.

'In order to minimise any delay in implementing the strategy, the Department has already acquired some areas of land and opened negotiations with landowners in other areas where the purchase of sites for sewage treatment would be necessary, should Tynwald endorse the business case report.’