Donegal County Council & Colloide Engineering Systems
Frosses Inver / Mountcharles Upper & Lower Water Supply Schemes
Contract No.2 - Upgrade of Water Treatment Works at Frosses.
11.00a.m. Tuesday 24th July 2007
Official Contract Signing In The Presence Of Minister Mary Coughlan, T.D.
There are two Water Supply Schemes that currently serve the village of Mountcharles and the region between Mountcharles and Donegal Town. These are the Mountcharles Upper & Mountcharles Lower Water Supply Schemes.
The Upper Water Supply Scheme comprises a slow sand filter and was constructed in the 1930s. The Lower Water Supply Scheme comprises a pressure filter and was constructed in the 1950s. The raw water source for both these schemes is St. Peter’s Lough, which is located nearby at Drumbeagh. The combined output from both schemes is between 655m3 – 755m3 treated water per day.
In 2003 Donegal County Council prepared a Preliminary Report on the Mountcharles Water Supply. The report indicated that the existing works were operating well above their design capacities and had difficulty in meeting the required Drinking Water Quality Standards. The report concluded that it was essential to upgrade the two works and that the most appropriate solution was to build a new treatment plant on the site of the existing Frosses Inver Water Treatment Works, at Drumbeagh.
Under the proposed Scheme, raw water from St. Peter’s Lough would be redirected to the existing Water Treatment Works Site at Drumbeagh and additional treatment facilities would be provided there. The combined capacity of both the new and existing Works would then be able to meet the needs of Frosses, Inver, Mountcharles & the surrounding areas for the short to medium term.
Phase I of the Frosses Inver / Mountcharles Upper & Lower Water Supply Scheme commenced in November 2005. The project was funded under the Rural Water Small Schemes Programme 2004 – 2006. The contract involved the laying of a new raw water pipeline from St. Peter’s Lough down to the Frosses Inver Water Treatment Works at Drumbeagh and a treated-water rising main from the Works to the new reservoir on Glencoagh hill. In total approximately 4,500m of rising and trunk watermain was installed. The Contract was awarded to Carty Contractors, Ballisodare, Co. Sligo, and was completed in the summer of 2006.
Phase II, this Contract, will also to be funded under the Rural Water Small Schemes Programme 2005 – 2007. It comprises the upgrading of the existing water treatment facilities at Drumbeagh, Frosses. The project involves the construction of a stand-alone conventional Water Treatment Plant with a capacity of 1,200m3/day and will include Contact Tanks, Sedimentation Tank, Rapid Gravity Filters and a High-Lift Pumping Station that will transfer the treated water to the new reservoir on Glencoagh Hill. The existing Mountcharles Upper and Lower Treatment Works will also be decommissioned once the plant becomes operational.
The Contract, a Design & Build Contract, has been awarded to Colloide Engineering Systems, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, N. Ireland, in the amount of €1,424,557.23. The Commencement date is the 2nd July 2007 and the Completion Date is the 31st December 2007. The Engineer representing Donegal County Council is Jennings O’Donovan & Partners, Finisklin, Sligo.