Causes of water supply disruptions in north Louth revealed
Uisce Eireann provided an update to Louth TD Ruairí Ó Murchú on the recent interruptions to the water supply in north Louth
Uisce Éireann has said that the recent interruptions to water supply in Dunbin that have affected water users in north Louth, have been the result of a series of unrelated operational incidents, rather than a single underlying fault with the water supply scheme.
The water utility provided the update to Louth SInn Féin TD, Ruairí Ó Murchú, who has been liaising with Uisce Éireann, following water supply disruptions that led to residents in Shelagh being hit with their seventh water outage since the middle of June after an emptying reservoir and problems with a generator cut water to the taps.
The latest outage was revealed to have been due to no water at the Dunbin reservoir, which also serves Knockbridge and Kilkerley, with homeowners in Shelagh being particularly badly hit because they are ‘at the end of the line’.
Uisce Éireann said in its latest update that historically, the scheme experienced supply issues due to leakage. However, a sustained leakage detection and repair programme implemented over the past three years has significantly reduced leakage levels and improved the overall performance of the network.
It said that wider events have caused further disruption to the community within the Dunbin Scheme. The interruptions experienced in recent months have been caused by a number of independent events, including:
- Damage to the rising main supplying the Hilltop pumping station by a third-party contractor carrying out directional drilling works.
- Subsequent damage to the Hilltop pumps and non-return valves, which reduced pumping capacity until repairs were completed.
- A radio communications failure between the Hilltop pumping station and Dunbin Reservoir.
- High-temperature trips affecting the Rathmore booster pumps during a period of exceptionally high demand.
- A control system fault that prevented pumps from automatically replenishing Dunbin Reservoir.
As these incidents occurred in quick succession, customers experienced a number of outages over a relatively short period.
Uisce Éíreann said that the immediate repair works associated with the recent incidents have been completed and the supply scheme has been returned to normal operation, and that at present, there are no major repair works outstanding in relation to these incidents.
It went on to say that the recent events have “highlighted areas where further improvements to network resilience may be beneficial, and while these will continue to be assessed as part of ongoing asset management and capital planning, a number of measures have already been identified and which would help to provide significantly greater resilience for the network and our customers.
“We are investigating, assessing and progressing enhancements across:
- Monitoring and sensors at the plant and reservoir
- Central oversight and alarm systems to improve response
- Water network and pump capacity for greater resilience
- Longer-term water storage assets and capacity solutions
“More widely in the area, Uisce Éireann is upgrading the water infrastructure at Dunbin to support future growth and development
“The works involve the upgrade of more than 1.1kms of water mains to cater for the future growth and development of the wider Dundalk area. These works are being carried out as part of Uisce Éireann’s Growth and Development Programme.
“This €750,000 investment will enable the potential development of over 120 new homes in the community. This project is being delivered to support existing and future developments within the community.
“It will improve the supply capacity of the existing water network in the area, improving performance and reducing demands on the current network. The upgrade is due for completion in 2026.”