New Burt reservoir planned to strengthen water supplies from Fullerton Dam to Letterkenny

Uisce Éireann is seeking planning permission for a new water storage reservoir in Burt to help secure supplies from the Fullerton Dam to Letterkenny and surrounding areas, with the utility confirming it intends to compulsorily purchase the lands required for the development if permission is granted.

The state utility has lodged an application with Donegal County Council for a 10-year planning permission to construct a 4,000-cubic-metre treated water storage reservoir at Bohullion Upper, in Burt.

The proposed development would be located at an existing forestry site south of the L7971 local road and would include a secondary chlorination kiosk, a new access road, an attenuation pond, fencing, landscaping and all associated site works.

However, the application documents confirm that the site is not currently owned by Uisce Éireann and that the utility intends to use its statutory powers to acquire the lands should the project receive planning permission.

In the application, Uisce Éireann states that it is relying on Article 22(2)(g)(iii) and Form 2 of Schedule 3 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended. These provisions allow a planning application to be made without landowner consent where the applicant intends to compulsorily acquire the land if permission is granted.

However, it is stated in the documents that the utility will continue to engage with the landowners in an effort to acquire the site by agreement.

Planning documents prepared by Nicholas O’Dwyer Ltd on behalf of Uisce Éireann identify a lack of secondary water storage as a significant weakness in the existing supply network.

The report states that, despite the expansion of the water services network in recent decades, infrastructure constraints remain, with no secondary storage currently serving the areas between Bridgend, Killea, St Johnston and Newtowncunningham.

As a result, a burst pipe or maintenance works on the trunk main between Buncrana and Burt, which have become a regular occurrence, can lead to an immediate interruption of supply to consumers further along the network.

The proposed Burt Reservoir is intended to provide additional storage capacity and improve the resilience and reliability of water supplies across the wider Inishowen and Letterkenny areas.

According to the planning documents, the development aligns with the National Water Resources Plan's preferred approach for the Letterkenny–Inishowen Water Resource Zone.

The report states that strengthening and integrating existing water infrastructure would support a more resilient public water supply network capable of meeting the needs of Letterkenny and Inishowen.

The Burt Reservoir proposal is the latest in a series of major planning applications involving Uisce Éireann infrastructure upgrades in South Inishowen.

The utility previously submitted plans during the summer for the Letterkenny and Inishowen Water Supply Upgrade Project, which included the replacement of almost 13 kilometres of strategic watermain between Buncrana and Burt.

The wider project was intended to improve the capacity and resilience of the water network serving South and East Inishowen, Letterkenny and surrounding areas.

However, that application was deemed invalid by Donegal County Council after the planning authority identified shortcomings in the submitted documentation.

The council cited deficiencies in the site location map, including requirements relating to the identification of site boundaries and the location of site notices.

The planning authority also advised that a planning application cannot be made for separate sites within a single application where this would result in separate legal planning units being included under the one application.

Donegal County Council is also reviewing a separate application from Uisce Éireann for a significant upgrade of the Illies Water Treatment Plant in Inishowen.

The utility is seeking a 10-year planning permission for works at the existing plant in the townland of Illies. The proposals include new buildings, structures and tanks, the demolition and replacement of an existing workshop, upgrades to existing treatment infrastructure and the installation of solar photovoltaic panels.

The Illies plant processes water from the Eddie Fullerton Pollan Dam with treated water distributed through a network of pipelines, pumping stations and storage reservoirs to homes and businesses across Inishowen and Letterkenny.

The proposed Burt Reservoir and the planned Illies upgrades form part of wider efforts to strengthen the regional water supply network.

However, the projects are unlikely to provide immediate reassurance to communities in the north of the Inishowen peninsula, where hopes of connecting local water supplies to the Illies Water Treatment Plant remain unresolved.

Donegal County Council is expected to decide on the proposed Burt Reservoir in early December.