Ballinasloe Mains Drainage & Water Conservation Works

This investment of €6.8 million benefits approximately 9,500 customers in the towns of Ballinasloe, Oranmore, Headford and Athenry.

There were two main elements to the project. The first was the replacement of water mains which are prone to bursts and leakage. The second involved upgrading the sewer network in Ballinasloe.

Benefits

• Improve water quality
• Reduce water leakage and supply disruptions
• Reduce maintenance costs (leak repair works, flushing etc)
• Reduce pollution risk to River Suck
• Improve road safety with new gullies and better road drainage
• Reduce wastewater treatment costs by separating surface water and wastewater

Steps

• Replacing 8.3km of water mains in Ballinasloe, Athenry, Oranmore and Headford at locations where existing water mains have been identified as needing rehabilitation
• Replacing service connections and boundary boxes for 430 customers in the areas
• Installing 2.4km of sewer network in Ballinasloe
• Replacing and transferring wastewater service connections for 124 customers in Ballinasloe to new sewers

Background

• Water leakage Sections of water mains in the area have been identified as having high levels of burst frequency and leakage. This results in high maintenance costs and an unreliable service for customers.
• Water quality With sections of the network being overloaded, there are instances where effluent discharges into watercourses during periods of high rainfall causing a potential risk of pollution to the River Suck. Additionally there are sections of old cast iron mains that exist on the network which can cause drinking water quality issues.
• Overloaded sewer system The existing sewer system collects and combines surface water and wastewater. This results in high volumes of both surface water and wastewater entering the system and being treated.