NI Water has announced the start of a £5.7 million water improvement scheme which will be essential to the future resilience of the water supply infrastructure for customers in the South Down area.

The work is due to start in May and will continue until early 2025.

The scheme will be split into sections and the first phase of works, commencing next month, will involve pipelaying - this first section of work is due to last around 8 months.

Eimear McDaid, NI Water Project Manager said:

“We are delighted to announce the start of this major Water Improvement Scheme, which will greatly improve the robustness and resilience of the water supply infrastructure in South Down.

“This key improvement scheme will protect and future-proof the local water infrastructure for customers in Castlewellan, Fofanny and beyond.

“Enhanced security of water supply will provide a more reliable service for people in the area and will be particularly important during extreme weather conditions and other unplanned events to ensure maximum security of supply for our customers.

“NI Water and our contractor GlanAgua Farrans would like to thank the public in advance for their patience and cooperation as we commence this essential water improvement scheme.”

Describing the £5.7 million investment as “an excellent example of what can be done when the necessary funding is in place, the water company said:

“NI Water looks forward to the necessary funding being put in place across the full six-year period of our PC21 business plan to 2027.

“Over the past fifteen years, we have steadily improved the efficiency with which we operate while at the same time improving the quality of drinking water, levels of environmental compliance and the services we provide to our customers”