Preparatory work begins at sewage treatment plant site

Preparatory work began commenced on Friday at the site of Gibraltar’s planned sewage treatment plant at Brewery Crusher, a day after planners granted full permission for the enabling works.

Eco Waters Ltd and its subcontractors have secured the site at Europa Point and begun removing rubble and preparing the ground.

The Minister for the Environment, Dr John Cortes, and chief executive Stephen Warr visited the site while work was under way.

Dr Cortes said detailed design work was also progressing.

“After all the problems we’ve had through the years in providing our much needed waste water treatment plant, this is almost a dream come true,” Dr Cortes said.

“We are finally breaking ground and the detailed design work is progressing fast.”

“We have always been committed to this and look forward to progressing the project to completion.”

The project, which forms part of Gibraltar’s 25 year environmental plan, will replace the current system that discharges untreated sewage into the sea.

The preparatory works at the former Brewery Crusher site in Europa Point and at Little Bay car park were cleared by the Development and Planning Commission last Thursday.

The application follows the outline planning approval granted in May for the treatment plant and associated pumping station, and is intended to get both sites ready ahead of a full planning application expected later this year.

The Brewery Crusher site, will be the location for the main treatment plant and
Little Bay car park for the pumping station.

Prepatatory work at Brewery Crusher will include breaking out existing concrete slabs, removing limestone blocks and waste materials, excavating to formation level for the proposed buffer tank and reactors, removing excavated material from site and installing a temporary electrical power supply for the construction phase.

At Little Bay, there will be establishment of banksmen stations – safe locations from which construction work can be directed - and erection of hoarding.

There will also be temporary road markings, including relocation of a disabled parking bay, as well as excavation of the wet well for the pumping station, installation of de-watering equipment, temporary removal and setting aside of existing rockfall protection elements, provision of access to an existing manhole and installation of a construction-phase electrical power supply.

The Town Planner’s report noted that the enabling works are in line with the strategic planning objectives for the site and consistent with the previously granted outline approval, without pre-judging the full application still to come.

The proposed plant at the Brewery Crusher site at Europa Point will feature a large green roof designed to blend into the local landscape, with capacity to treat 26,000 cubic metres of wastewater per day, rising to 36,000 cubic metres by 2049.

The civil structures are designed for a 60-year lifespan, with the plant itself expected to last at least 25 years and allow for future upgrades, including tertiary treatment and possible anaerobic digestion.