Over a number of years, properties in the Toome Road area of Ballymena, County Antrim (Northern Ireland), have experienced both external and internal flooding. The residents had been living in fear of further flooding every time there was significant rainfall and the flooding history also meant they had difficulties and extra expense in getting insurance for their properties. Following investigations and sewer modelling it was identified that the principal cause of the flooding was due to a lack of capacity in the existing combined sewerage system coupled with the inability to discharge storm water to the adjacent river when water levels were high. This required Northern Ireland Water to deliver a solution to resolve the out-of-sewer flooding. McAdam supported completion of a feasibility report and after review of a variety of options a solution was recommended and designs developed to construction. The work involved the upgrade of existing sewers, as well as the installation of new sewers on Wakehurst Park, Wakehurst Road, Queen Street and Toome Road. A large storage tank will was also constructed on land adjacent to the council playing fields at Wakehurst Road.
The project team had to ensure successful delivery of the scheme in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in a brief pause to construction during the first lockdown in March 2020. Site procedures and methodologies were modified to ensure the safety of the workforce and the general public were maintained and construction on this essential site quickly resumed.
Following testing and commissioning, the new attenuation tank and infrastructure has been in successful operation since October 2020 and as result, the risk of any future flooding has been substantially reduced, providing a significant number of properties in the area with a much greater level of protection
