Coffey has supplied two containerised water treatment units to Irish Water who are shipping the units to Ukraine. The units are destined to help alleviate issues with the supply of clean drinking water to the people of the embattled country. The water treatment plants were originally built and supplied by Coffey and Coftec as part of Irish Water’s Containerised Emergency Treatment Works Programme. Irish Water are diverting the units from that programme and both Coffey and Coftec are delighted to be part of this worthy project which will greatly assist the people of Ukraine.
Minister Darragh O’Brien and Irish Water announced the generous initiative as a response to urgent calls for support to provide clean water in the war-torn region. The mobile WTPs will be transported to Lviv to immediately provide fresh drinking water for those most in need. An estimated 1.4 million people have no access to safe running water across Eastern Ukraine alone, according to a recent report from UNICEF. There are also fears that improper burials in parks, gardens, and public areas, could lead to contaminated drinking water.
The self-contained units consist of pressure filtration and UV disinfection systems built in a 40-foot shipping container and are capable of treating up to 40,000 litres per hour each, which will supply 6,200 people with the equivalent of 1.6 million one litre bottles of clean water per day. Both units contain pressure filters, raw water and backwash pumps, UV reactors and all the necessary pipework and ancillary equipment to enable the self-contained water solutions to be operational very quickly once placed in situ.
To aid set-up on arrival, contact details are included within the units in English and Ukrainian to enable online support for any commissioning and operating queries which will be provided at no cost by Coffey in Galway.
Odran Madden, MD of Coffey stated “we are delighted to assist Irish Water and in turn, the people of Ukraine with our participation in this project. Coffey and Coftec, our water technology division, have designed and built the plants in Athenry, Co. Galway. The units can be used to supplement an existing drinking water supply or replace infrastructure which may have been damaged in the conflict. We are proud to be associated with this programme and our team appreciate the opportunity to support the people of Ukraine in a tangible way.
According to Niall Gleeson, Irish Water Chief Executive Officer, “Access to safe water is a fundamental human need, and we can often take for granted given our access to fresh and safe water here in Ireland. We know that the situation in Ukraine has resulted in water supply being disrupted entirely or severely polluted, meaning it is unsafe for drinking. We hope our donation of these two units will play a role to help some of the people suffering in Ukraine access safe water.”
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien T.D., welcomed the initiative; “I want to highly commend Irish Water for providing these much-needed water treatment units to Ukraine. This exemplifies the many ways Ireland, through its people and its state agencies, is showing its solidarity with the people of Ukraine in their time of need. This donation demonstrates collaborative approaches to providing practical and important solutions to support the Ukrainian people. These water units will benefit thousands who are struggling to source fresh, safe drinking water.”
Her Excellency Ms Larysa Gerasko, Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland expressed her gratitude for the donation. “From across Ireland there has been so much support shown to our people and country. A basic right to clean water has been destroyed by Russia in a lot of regions and this donation will be essential to sustain those who are currently in absolute need. We thank everyone involved for their work and effort to get these vital water units to my homeland.”
Tony Keohane, Chairman of the Ervia Group, commented; “The decision to donate these mobile water treatment units was taken in response to the overwhelming need of the people of Ukraine at this time. Like everyone else in Ireland we have been shocked to witness the suffering inflicted on the civilian population over the past months and wish to show our support in any way we can. These units will provide clean drinking water where it is needed most to support the people of Ukraine, representing a further contribution from Ireland to this humanitarian crisis.”
Coffey are retaining a third WTP on standby in Athenry in case of an emergency water quality incident in Ireland. The shipped units will be replaced in the near future and Coffey will hold three containerised WTP units in stock for Irish Water going forward.
The containerised water treatment units will be shipped to Ukraine this week.
Call Coffey on 091 844 356, email at info@coffeygroup.com for more details on this project, to discuss the containerised water treatment plant programme or our other work with Irish Water.
