Work to begin on new €3m water infrastructure in Kingscourt

Work on the €3m plus upgrade of water infrastructure in the town of Kingscourt will commence in August, Irish Water (IW) has confirmed.
Last month, Veolia, won the 27-month 'Design and Build’ contract, which includes a one-year Operations Phase, with IW to complete the upgrade, which also includes a new reservoir for the east county town.
The work will enhance the performance of the existing plant in the town to treat the increased demand over the next few years, provide better use of resources and boost sustainability it is hoped.
Under the contract Veolia is expected to deliver a wide range of solutions including borehole pumping, direct coagulation, first stage filtration, Oxidation, second stage filtration, disinfection, PH correction, fluoridation and wash-water treatment. The service will be delivered by Veolia’s local engineering team and is expected to begin this month.
In a letter to Cavan County Council, IW informed the authority the agreement was in place for initial works to begin in August later this year.

'Pressure issues’
Sean Laffey, head of asset management with the semi-State water company, accepted that there are “ongoing pressure issues” in parts of the town with elevations close to the service reservoir. “In order to ensure adequate pressure to these consumers the reservoir needs to be maintained at a high level whenever possible, although this is not always the case
“There were some water supply outages over this period in question due to water main bursts, which may have exacerbated Kingscourt scheme work to begin in August,” he informed the meeting in his letter.
It’s hoped that new 'booster pumps’, due to be installed, will alleviate such issues in future.
Last year the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) voiced concern over ongoing delays in the upgrade of the Kingscourt public water supply.
The Kingscourt public water supply is on the EPA’s priority list as the HSE had identified the 1950s’ plant as in need of upgrading.
The Kingscourt water treatment plant also supplies the Ballinaclose public supply in Co Meath.
At the June monthly meeting of Cavan County Council, Kingscourt Fianna Fáil Councillor Clifford Kelly welcomed the confirmation from IW, saying it has been a “long time coming”.
He recognised that the council itself had put the plans in place for the upgrade prior to the formation of Irish Water, who “inherited” the blueprints for the scheme.
Cllr Paddy Smith (FG) added that it was “great to see such positive action” by IW.