NI Water Completes Phase One of Flood Alleviation Project

NI Water has completed phase one a major Flood Alleviation Project to upgrade the sewerage infrastructure and substantially reduce the risk of out-of-sewer flooding in the Marguerite Park area of South Belfast.

Work on this major project commenced within the grounds of Musgrave Park in April 2021 and was recently completed ahead of schedule. BSG Civil Engineering Ltd was appointed as the main contractor for this phase, with Atkins providing Project Management services.

Aerial image, featuring part of the Phase 1 works area, including Musgrave Park/Musgrave Park Hospital, Malone College and the Marguerite Park area.

Mark Sefton, NI Water’s Senior Project Manager said: “The aim of this £8million project, which was funded through the Living With Water Programme (LWWP) which is led by the Department for Infrastructure, was to increase the capacity of the existing network, reducing the risk of out-of-sewer flooding and environmental pollution within the Marguerite Park area. 

“The local community will benefit from the improvements for many years to come, and the completion of phase one will also pave the way for future work in the Sicily Park area. NI Water and our project team appreciate that work was disruptive in a busy residential area and would like to sincerely thank the local community and all our stakeholders for their patience and support throughout this essential scheme.”

The Tunnel Boring Machine is lowered underground at the Musgrave Park site in May 2021

Phase one involved laying a total of 1.3km new large diameter sewers, which were constructed from the “Grovelands” area of Musgrave Park, through the park grounds, Musgrave Park Hospital, Malone College, crossing under the railway line and through private lands into Diamond Gardens/Marguerite Park and Donegall Park.

800 metres of the new sewers were constructed using underground micro-tunnelling techniques, which included crossing under the main Belfast to Dublin railway line. Tunnelling techniques significantly reduced disruption to our customers, particularly within Musgrave Park/Musgrave Park Hospital and Malone College. The final section of pipelaying was laid throughout Diamond Gardens, Marguerite Park and Donegall Park.

View the project video here: https://youtu.be/d0hAjArQtPQ