Upgrade works at Louth water treatment plants expected to be completed over the coming years

Works to update facilities at the Greenmount Water Treatment Plant and the Cavanhill Plant which supplies Irish Water customers in Dundalk and Louth are set to be completed in the coming years according to a report on water quality published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Work to upgrade the treatment facilities at the Greenmount Water Treatment Plant is expected to be completed in September 2026.

The plant which supplies water to the mid-Louth area has been slated for works for a number of years with the last estimate putting the cost of works at between €5- €10 million.

The report also gave an expected completion date of June this year for work to replace the Tallanstown PWS (Public Water Supply), which serves 2,010 people, with water from the Cavanhill PWS.

The EPA notes that it required compliance on these works by December 2020.

Further work on the Cavanhill plant is expected to be completed by the end of June 2025. 

The report also notes that a boil water notice was in effect for eight days in the middle of September last year for 8040 customers on the Ardee water supply due to a mechanical failure, and a further boil water notice was in placefrom early August till the second week in September for customers on the same system due to “Inadequate disinfection.”

Separately, five customers on the South Louth and East Meath supply were under a boil water notice for three weeks in April/May last year due to E. coli.

Water restrictions were also in place for five customers on the same line due to the presence of Manganese in November last year, a notice that had not been rescinded as of the beginning of 2024.

Nationally, the latest Drinking Water Report published by the EPA showed a 99.7% compliance with microbiological and chemical standards. 

Margaret Attridge, Uisce Éireann’s Head of Water Operations said, “Uisce Éireann operates over 700 water treatment plants across Ireland and we are committed to delivering transformative water services which enable communities to thrive.

“The EPA Drinking Water Report shows that risks to the resilience and security of Ireland’s drinking water supplies continue to be identified and addressed by Uisce Éireann. We have an ambitious capital investment programme, through which we will continue to improve the safety and resilience of Ireland’s drinking water supplies in the years to come.”

“Public health is our top priority; initiatives such as our national disinfection programme, the rollout of the Drinking Water Safety Plan approach, and our enhanced testing and monitoring of treatment plants, have enabled us to make enormous strides in ensuring more secure and resilient supplies.

“We recognise that challenges remain, and it will take sustained high levels of investment across a number of investment cycles to address all legacy issues, but we are confident that our ambitious capital investment programme will enable us to transform Ireland’s water services and ensure a safe, sustainable, secure and reliable drinking water supply for everyone now and into the future, supporting communities to thrive.”