Homes on group water schemes set to be connected to public mains across Donegal

Plans are being made to connect 16 group water schemes across Donegal to the public water mains to bring safe, treated water to more than 200 homes.

At present, homes (and a school) on these group schemes take their water from private sources including streams and rivers, wells and springs, and the water is often untreated. Some of these supplies are prone to outages during dry spells causing hardship for residents depending on them.

At the end of January, Donegal County Council will formally issue tenders seeking an engineering services provider to carry out the detailed design work needed as as first step to hook up the various schemes to the public network.

Using funding allocated by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in 2024 and 2025, the council has outlined a programme that would see 42 kilometres of new pipelines laid to connect 210 homes and one school currently supplied by group water schemes to the public water network operated by Uisce Éireann.

Under the tender, Donegal County Council is outsourcing the full suite of technical and project-management responsibilities - including civil and hydraulic design, environmental and ecological assessments, preparation of construction tender documents, management of the tender process and supervision of the construction contract - to the engineering firm that wins the contract.

More than €14.6 million has been allocated for the design phase alone, with the eventual construction works expected to cost several times that amount.

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Around the county

Three Inishowen group water schemes at Ballymagarahy, Drumaweir and Drumanil are to be connected to the public mains. Around 2.5 kilometres of new interconnectors and pipelines will be required to supply 27 homes, with €576,763 allocated for design work.

In the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District, six group water schemes are included, covering 69 connections.

Five of these - Moyles/Glenvar, Milltown, Conwal, Toragh and Coole Cranford - already have departmental approval. They serve 27 homes and will require about 8.5 kilometres of new pipelines, with €2.9 million approved for design costs.

The largest scheme in this district is Rathdonnell-Sockar in Letterkenny, serving 41 homes and St Joseph’s National School. However, while the council has submitted a funding application, it has not yet been approved. The council estimates about 4.5 kilometres of new pipework would be required to connect the scheme to the public network.

There are three group water schemes covering 42 homes in the Donegal Municipal District. The council estimates that more than 10 kilometres of new pipelines will be needed to connect homes in Legan, Laghey Bar and Meenaveen. Just over €3.4 million has been allocated for design costs.

Plans are also being prepared to connect four group water schemes in the Glenties Municipal District. This includes the Meenderryhirk/Brockagh scheme, which serves 12 homes and will require 5.5 kilometres of new pipelines, with a design budget of almost €1.8 million.

The programme also includes the offshore islands of Inisboffin (Inis Bó Finne), Owey (An Uaigh) and Rutland (Inis Mhic an Doirn). There are 13 connections on Owey, 34 on Inisboffin and 13 on Rutland. As with Rathdonnell–Sockar, funding for Rutland has not yet been approved, although an application has been submitted to the Department.

Connecting the public water network to offshore islands is significantly more complex and costly because of the need for undersea pipelines and pumping stations. The council estimates that 2.7 kilometres of new pipeline and a pumping station will be required to bring mains water from Cruit Island to Owey Island, with a design budget of €1.9 million.

The largest and most expensive project included in the tender is the near 5 kilometre pipeline and pumping station required to connect Inisboffin to the public supply at Magheraroarty Pier. Just over €4 million has been allocated for the design and environmental surveys required, as the island lies within a Special Protection Area and a Natural Heritage Area.

In total, €14,688,859 has been approved for the design phase of 14 of the 16 group water schemes. When completed, these projects would deliver mains water to 155 homes through 34.5 kilometres of new pipelines.

The council has applied for further funding to allow the remaining 55 connections at Rathdonnell-Sockar and Rutland Island to be brought onto the public water network.