Cllr Patrick McGowan welcomes works to replace old water mains in the Liscooley and Castlefin areas

It’s all systems go for East Donegal with works to replace 4.3km of old water mains in the Liscooley and Castlefin areas to begin shortly.

Uisce Éireann, working with Donegal County Council, expects to have crews on the ground within days as they remove the old pipework to ensure a better quality of water for customers. 

Almost 3.4km of new mains will be laid along the N15 from Liscooley to Castlefin and will include new pipework for Grahamsland Estate.  Separately, almost another kilometre of mains will be replaced on the L-6224 Hill Head Road, Castlefin - from N15/ hill head road junction to the Castlefinn service reservoir. 

Uisce Éireann’s Networks Programme Manager Declan Cawley explained that the project will bring a plethora of benefits for customers in the area. 

“Removing the old cast iron mains will not only improve the quality of water but it will reduce the amount of drinking water lost into the ground to leakage. Replacement of old mains also reduces the instances of bursts and water outages. Locals can look forward to a more secure and reliable supply.” 

Farrans Construction will carry out the works on behalf of Uisce Éireann with a completion date of September 2023 for the works on L-6224 Hill Head Road, Castlefin and December 2023 for the works on N15 between Liscooley and Castlefin.

In order to ensure the safe delivery of the essential works, traffic management in the form of traffic lights and a stop/go system will be in place along the N15 Liscooley to Castlefin Road and along the L-6224 Hillhead Road. Locals can be assured that access will be maintained for local and emergency traffic. 

The works may require some short-term water interruptions to the water supply, but the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours’ notice prior to any planned interruptions.

“We understand that this type of work is inconvenient, and our crews will make every effort to minimise disruption to the local people.  These works are essential for the area and the long-term benefits will far outweigh any short-term inconvenience. We thank the community for their patience and co-operation.” 

The news has also been welcomed by local councillor, Patrick McGowan.

"We have been campaigning for this for over 25 years and it's great at last to hear work will begin shortly. People in this area have had to put up with a poor supply but all going well, the new work will transform the quality and quantity of their supply," he said.