Local engineers visit state of the art Foxes Den Water Treatment Plant in Sligo

Ensuring a safe supply of water to over 11,000 people in Sligo

Irish Water recently opened the doors of the Foxes Den Water Treatment Plant to a group from Engineers Ireland. The visit, organised by the North West regional branch of Engineers Ireland, was attended by a group of over 20 engineers from the locality. On the day, the engineers had the opportunity to view first hand the state of the art treatment plant which ensures a safe supply of water to homes and businesses for over 11,000 people in Sligo.

Removal from EPA’s remedial action list

The Foxes Den Water Treatment Plant has undergone a significant upgrade since the inception of Irish Water. The upgrade had also led to the treatment plant in Cairns Hill being decommissioned, and the scheme being removed from the EPA’s remedial action list, a list of schemes that the EPA deem to be at risk.

Anthony Skeffington, Irish Water’s Regional Operations Lead stated “This is a vital piece of infrastructure for Sligo. It provides water for businesses and homes and is essential for social and economic growth. Visiting sites and seeing infrastructure in operation is hugely beneficial to engineering professionals who are, or will be, involved in the design, construction and operation of our future infrastructure. The visit to the Foxes Den plant is informative, and gives a valuable insight into how engineers and today’s technology turns raw, untreated  water from Lough Gill into clean, safe drinking water which feeds the taps of Sligo and its environs.”

Rowan O’Callaghan, Chairman Engineers Ireland North West Region added “One of the goals of the Engineers Ireland North West Region committee is to provide engineers in the locality with opportunities to learn and develop as professionals, be they from design consultancy, contractor or Local Authority backgrounds. So we are hugely appreciative to Irish Water and Celtic Anglican Water for hosting the site visit, where we got to look ‘under the bonnet’ of the highly technical water treatment process at this very impressive water treatment facility.

Our projects

For more information on all our infrastructure upgrades, please visit our Projects section.