Another step completed to improve Bundoran’s water network

07 December 2021

Known as the surfing capital of Ireland, Bundoran is a thriving seaside town with a population close to 2,000 people. Safeguarding the water supply across Donegal continues to be a priority for Uisce Éireann, with Bundoran the latest location to benefit from a more reliable water supply and reduced leakage. Uisce Éireann in partnership with Donegal County Council recently replaced approximately 250 metres of old, damaged watermains in West End, Bundoran.

This is the second phase of watermains replaced in Bundoran in most recent times, with approximately 1.4km of watermains replaced last year as part of the Donegal Countywide Water Mains Rehabilitation Project. The watermains replaced were prone to frequent leakage and bursts causing supply disruptions and water quality issues for customers in the area. The old mains were replaced with new high density polyethylene (plastic) pipes.

Outlining the benefits of the works, Uisce Éireann’s Declan Cawley, Regional Delivery Lead explains how the completion of this project, is another step in improving Donegal’s water network.

“The importance of replacing aging watermains in a busy town like Bundoran cannot be underestimated. These works will ensure the provision of a safe and secure drinking water supply and will also reduce the amount of clean drinking water lost through leakage.

“As one of Ireland’s most popular seaside destinations, reducing the level of leakage is hugely important for Bundoran. These vital works will ensure the provision of an improved water supply to homes and businesses in the area now and into the future.”

One such business which see the benefits of watermain replacement works is the Allingham Arms Hotel. Peter McIntyre, Hotel Manager said: “Replacing the existing watermains with new modern pipes will provide a long-term solution to ensure a more secure and reliable water supply which is important to the community and businesses who need it for day-to-day functioning.

“As a business we are conscious of just how precious this resource is and understand how vital it is to our operations. These essential works were inconvenient at times, but the project team actively engaged in advance of the works and committed to keeping us informed during the construction phase allowing smooth delivery of the works and minimal impact to the business.”

Acknowledging the support of the local community, Declan added: “We would like to thank businesses, homeowners and visitors for their patience and cooperation while we worked to deliver these vital network improvement works in West End and when we completed the Donegal Countywide Water Mains rehabilitation project last year.

We would also like to thank Farrans Construction Ltd for delivering the works on Uisce Éireann’s behalf.”

This project is one example of how Uisce Éireann is working in partnership with Donegal County Council to reduce leaks every day. Fixing leaks can be complicated with over 63,000km of water pipe in Ireland. Most leaks aren’t visible, resulting in precious water being lost but we are making progress. In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46%, by the end of 2020 it was 40% and we are currently on course to achieving a national leakage rate of 38% by the end of 2021.

The National Leakage Reduction Programme helps provide a more reliable water supply to Irish communities by reducing high levels of leakage and improving water quality. Its delivery represents an investment of over €500 million between 2017 and the end of 2021 to reduce leakage and replace old pipes on the water network.

For more information on reducing leaks visit our National Leakage Reduction Programme page.