Irish Water, working in partnership with Donegal County Council, continues to make progress on works to replace problematic water mains to the Cashel reservoir in Gortahork which will reduce high levels of leakage and ensure a more secure supply of drinking water for local residents and businesses who have been affected by frequent bursts and outages.

These water mains renewal works involve the decommissioning and replacement of approximately 1.7 kilometres of old and damaged water pipes in Gortahork with modern, high density polyethelene (plastic) ones. As part of the same programme of works Irish Water is also replacing 1.6km of damaged water mains in Falcarragh.

To facilitate the safe delivery of works, there will be road closures in place on roads L-1123-1 and L11533 in the Gortahork area at separate stages of the delivery.  The next stage of the works requires a section of the 1123-1 Baltoney Road to be closed on September 30 2019.  The community will be notified of this in advance.  Local and emergency access will be maintained at all times. Alternative routes will be available and diversions will be clearly sign-posted.

Areas of work will be limited to short sections to minimise impact on customers. Traffic management may be in place during this time.

The works are part of Irish Water’s National Leakage Reduction Programme which will reduce the high level of leakage across the country by fixing or replacing ageing water mains. Irish Water is investing over €500 million between 2017 and 2021 as part of this programme.

This contract is being carried out by Farran’s Construction Limited on behalf of Irish Water. Once complete customers will experience improved water security due to a reduction in the amount of bursts and leakage in these areas.

Explaining further what’s involved, Irish Water’s Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead Declan Cawley said: “Irish Water is committed to safeguarding the water supply for customers in Co Donegal. These works will involve the decommissioning and replacement of water mains on the L-1123-1, R257, N56 and L-11533 in Gortahork. 

“The works include laying water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers’ property boundaries and connecting them to the customer’s water supply. Where the existing service connections on the public side are lead these will be replaced as part of this improvement work.”

The works may involve some short-term water shut offs and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours’ notice prior to any planned water shut offs.

Irish Water regrets any inconvenience these necessary water network improvements may cause and would like to thank local residents and businesses for their cooperation in delivering these essential works which will bring a more reliable water supply to the local community.

Residents and businesses in the areas to benefit from the planned improvements have been notified and customers can phone Irish Water on Callsave 1850 278 278 if they have any questions about the project.

Details of work in the area will be updated regularly on the Water Supply Updates section of the Irish Water website at https://www.water.ie/water-supply/supply-and-service-update/

Further information on Irish Water’s Leakage Reduction Programme is also available on the Irish Water website www.water.ie.

This project forms part of Irish Water’s investment plan. Works have been prioritised to address the most critical issues in line with commitments outlined in Irish Water’s Business Plan. Delivery of the business plan will involve a €5.5 billion investment in capital spending on drinking water and wastewater quality and capacity and new infrastructure up to 2021. This plan includes an investment in leakage reduction and water quality initiatives, called the Leakage Reduction Programme, which will see an investment of €512 million during the period to 2021. These works are vital to ensuring a clean, safe and reliable public water supply to support our growing population and economy.