Sludge Drying Reed Beds, Various Locations

New, sustainable, long-term solutions were required by Irish Water to address sludge treatment and disposal of sludge from their wastewater assets in order to ensure the best possible value is provided for the benefit of End Users. The adoption of these new processes and technologies also forms part of Irish Water’s goal to reduce carbon emissions in line with national and international climate change goals and to promote principles of a circular economy.

One of the feasible solutions we identified is the use of sludge drying reed beds. On-site treatment solutions such as Sludge Reed Beds (SRBs) offer a robust, sustainable and affordable solution for the long-term treatment of wastewater sludge, providing in situ treatment and stabilisation and minimising quantities of material requiring disposal offsite, where primary sludge and excess activated sludge is reduced to a stabilised product.