Sewage treatment works delayed until end of 2026

Currently raw sewage is pumped into Peel Bay in the west of the island

Raw sewage will continue to be pumped into the sea until the end of 2026, Manx Utilities has confirmed.

The building of a sewage treatment works in Peel had been due to finish in 2025, meanwhile a similar project in Garff was scheduled for completion early the following year.

But the government-owned utilities provider said issues with acquiring land and a shortage of off-island contractors needed to install specialist equipment were to blame.

The delay to the facilities, which will be part of a £40m scheme to deal with the island's waste, has been branded "appalling" Peel and Glenfaba MHK Kate Lord-Brennan.

The "issue of gross pollution" should "not be regarded as normal, or acceptable, or overlooked", she said.

'Shame of the island'

The completion date for the Peel project, proposed for land near Peel power station, is subject to planning approval by June 2024, no appeals by interested parties and "no worsening of UK supplier resourcing challenges", the utilities firm said.

It also confirmed screening equipment could be installed at the start of 2026 to "remove solid material" from the discharge and "divert and treat a significant portion of the flow, providing significant environmental and public health improvements".

But Ms Lord-Brennan said that was a "non fix" and "not something we should be grateful for".

"The bay being polluted with untreated sewage remains the shame of the island, as it has been for decades," she added.

Manx Utilities considered more than 50 sites for the project in the east

In its latest update on the Garff project, Manx Utilities said, although land in Axnfell plantation has been earmarked for a plant to treat sewage from Laxey and Baldrine, an end-of-2026 target completion date could not be confirmed until a contractor had been appointed.

"Progress has not been as fast as was hoped or originally envisaged, with frustrating delays," the firm added.

The utilities provider said it now plans to hold meetings with the local authorities in both areas so more detailed updates can be provided.