Significant investment in water quality improvements for communities and businesses in South Wicklow

27 July 2022

The quality and resilience of drinking water is set to drastically improve for customers in South Wicklow as Uisce Éireann, working in partnership with Wicklow County Council, will construct and commission approximately 13.5km of rehabilitated and new state-of-the art watermains at Aughrim. This project will ensure a significant improvement in drinking water quality and reduce disruptions to supply, benefitting residents and businesses in Aughrim and surrounding areas.

Works will commence this week on the Aughrim, Annacurra, and Ballymorris Water Supply Schemes. Once completed, the improvement works will remove Aughrim Annacurra from the EPA’s Remedial Action List and eliminate the risk of Boil Water Notices (BWN) at Ballymorris.

This significant investment will also involve the extension of the Ballyduff (Arklow) Water Supply Scheme to Aughrim via Ballymorris, the installation of new booster pumps at Ballyduff, Ballymorris, and Aughrim and see the decommissioning of the Ballymorris and Aughrim Water Treatment Plants which will ensure the delivery of a clean, safe drinking water source for the area.

Outlining the benefits that the project will bring to communities in the area, Stephen Lambe, Project Manager at Uisce Éireann, explained: “I am delighted to announce this significant investment by Uisce Éireann which will future proof the quality of the water supply for the communities in Aughrim and the surrounding areas. Providing a safe and secure water supply for our customers in Aughrim is a top priority for Uisce Éireann.”

Stephen added, “The construction and commissioning of the new water mains and the extension of the Ballyduff (Arklow) Water Supply Scheme to Aughrim via Ballymorris will remove Aughrim, Annacurra from the EPA’s Remedial Action List (RAL) and remove the risk of boil water notices at Ballymorris. We would like to thank customers in advance for their cooperation and patience while we complete this essential project.”

All customers that are directly affected by the works will be notified in advance by the contractor. Further information relating to traffic management required in Aughrim, Annacurra and Ballymorris will be confirmed in the coming weeks as further works progress.

The works will have some short-term disruption to water supply at the commissioning stage. The project team will ensure to give a minimum of 48 hours’ notice to customers prior to any planned interruption. Ward and Burke Limited and Murphy Process Engineering are carrying out the works on behalf of Uisce Éireann.

Uisce Éireann’s customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates, please visit our Supply and Service Updates section or set your location on our website.

Uisce Éireann is responsible for the delivery of all public water and wastewater services in Ireland. We are committed to continuously upgrading and developing critical infrastructure to support the growth needed in housing and across our economy, while protecting the environment and safeguarding water supplies.