Mon, Apr 27, 2026
Text Size
Wednesday, 02 January 2019 08:42

Irish Water submits Compulsory Purchase Order for Falcarragh sewerage scheme

Irish Water has submitted an application for a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) to An Bord Pleanála which is essential for the delivery of the Falcarragh sewerage scheme.

The order will allow the water company, which is working in partnership with Donegal County Council to formally acquire the lands required for the project.

Irish Water will publish the public notice for the CPO to acquire the necessary lands, and wayleaves and the CPO will also be submitted to An Bord Pleanála.

Consultations have been on-going with all landowners identified on the proposed scheme – however, Irish Water was unable to acquire all of the required wayleaves and lands on a voluntary basis.

The proposed scheme will end the discharge of approximately 1,300 wheelie bins of poorly treated sewage into Ballyness Bay per day.

Speaking about the project Colm Claffey, Irish Water, commented:

“Irish Water is increasing investment in wastewater infrastructure year on year and has planned to increase spending on wastewater projects in the existing Capital Investment Plan. Many of wastewater projects are currently in the design and planning stage and expenditure during this stage is significantly lower than during construction. Consequently there will be a large increase in wastewater expenditure over the next few years up to the end of 2021.”

Irish Water is working in partnership with Donegal County Council to end the discharge of poorly treated wastewater into Ballyness Bay with a significant investment in the Falcarragh sewerage scheme.

The existing sewerage works were originally constructed in 1959 and consists of primary treatment only which is currently overloaded.

Key elements of the scheme will include:

  • Construction of a new Wastewater Treatment Plant at Ballyness which will serve a population equivalent of approximately 1,675
  • Construction of a tidal tank and tidal valve to restrict discharge to periods of high tide only in Ballyness Bay
  • Decommissioning and demolition of the existing septic tank in Ballyness
  • Construction of a new wastewater pumping station and demolition of the existing pumping station at Ballyconnell
  • Construction of a new CSO chamber and mechanical screen in Ballyness to replace the existing unscreened overflow

Irish Water intends to submit a planning application to Donegal County Council in autumn 2019.Subject to statutory approvals, it is envisaged that planning, design and construction will take approximately 3 years and will be undertaken between 2018 and 2021, with the construction works expected to commence in late 2019.

News Showcase

Sign up to receive the Waterbriefing newsletter:


Watch

Click here for more...

Login / Register




Forgot login?

New Account Registrations

To register for a new account with Waterbriefing, please contact us via email at waterbriefing@imsbis.org

Existing waterbriefing users - log into the new website using your original username and the new password 'waterbriefing'. You can then change your password once logged in.

Advertise with Waterbriefing

WaterBriefing is the UK’s leading online daily dedicated news and intelligence service for business professionals in the water sector – covering both UK and international issues. Advertise with us for an unrivalled opportunity to place your message in front of key influencers, decision makers and purchasers.

Find out more

About Waterbriefing

Water Briefing is an information service, delivering daily news, company data and product information straight to the desks of purchasers, users and specifiers of equipment and services in the UK water and wastewater industry.


Find out more