05/02/19 Owenteskna water supply removed from Donegal’s Remedial Action List by the EPA following Irish Water investment

Over 2,700 water consumers in Co Donegal received good news this week following the removal of the Owenteskna Kilcar water supply by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from their Remedial Action List (RAL).

This is following a €3.8m upgrade by Irish Water to the Owenteskna Public Water Supply which serves Owenteskna and Kilcar. The new treatment system has a new state of the art water treatment plant and reservoir. The new treatment system includes UV disinfection to mitigate against the risk of contamination from Cryptosporidium. Customers in the south west area of Donegal now have a reliable supply of high quality drinking water in compliance with requirements set out in the European Union Drinking Water Directive and National Drinking Water Regulations.

Works are continuing on the six other Donegal water supplies Cashilard, Creeslough, Glenties-Ardara, Greencastle, Letterkenny and Milford Letterkenny.

It’s expected that the Cashilard scheme and Glenties-Ardara will be removed in the next RAL update. The Creeslough treatment plant is currently being upgraded, while works at the Greencastle source are also in progress. The Milford-Letterkenny supply will also be removed once the Letterkenny Water Treatment Plant has been upgraded and works on this are progressing. All 6 schemes will be completed by Irish Water with the expectation that they will be removed from the RAL by the EPA by years end.
Speaking about the RAL and the ongoing work in Donegal, Irish Water’s Regional Compliance Specialist Pat O’Sullivan said: “The publication of the latest RAL update is a confirmation of the focus and dedication of Irish Water and Donegal County Council in ensuring the delivery of clean and wholesome water in the county.

“As a single utility Irish Water can take a comprehensive look at the overall performance of Ireland’s drinking water production plants for the first time so that when the most serious problems are identified like some of the issues in Donegal, projects and budgets can be prioritised.”

At a national level Irish Water plans to reduce the number of schemes on the RAL to zero by 2021 with an investment of €327 million in upgrading water supplies at risk.