The Irish Government has approved a major investment in the Athlone Main Drainage Scheme.
Minister for Housing Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD described the announcement of cabinet approval for the Athlone Main Drainage Scheme as a milestone moment for Athlone and Irish Water's project team.
The project will significantly increase the capacity of the town’s sewer network allowing for the development of homes and commercial premises and put an end to sewer overflows into the River Shannon in Athlone.
Irish Water’s Regional Delivery Lead Eunan Canavan commented:
“Today's news follows a huge effort by the team in Irish Water and means we can now look forward to awarding the contract for the project and work beginning before the end of the year.
“When completed, this project will address non-compliant sewer overflows into the River Shannon and allow for current and future development.”
The current network does not have the capacity for growth and there are frequent out of sewer floodings in the town – this is all set to change when the upgrade is completed.
Announcing the approval Minister O’Brien TD described the project as “pivotal” for the successful delivery of housing in the town.
“The project will cater for a growing population in Athlone and will facilitate economic development and importantly, safeguard the environment.”
The project includes the construction of new pumping stations, installing more than 2.8km of sewer network and decommissioning underperforming pumping stations and pipework all by the end of 2025.
In order to minimise disruption in the town, where feasible, Irish Water plans to install the new sewers using specialist tunnelling techniques.
Irish Water previously invested €5.6million to increase the capacity of the Athlone Wastewater Treatment Plant in June 2018 and this latest project is further progress in the delivery of infrastructure to support housing and economic growth.
With the UK government demanding a 50% reduction in storm overflow spills by 2029, the era of reactive management is over. Speaking in the House of Commons on 21 July 2025, then environment secretary Steve Reed said, “This Government will cut water companies’ sewage pollution in half by the end of the decade.”
ERG, the leading supplier of odour control systems and industrial gas cleaning & thermal systems, has been awarded the coveted King’s Award for Enterprise.
Welsh Water’s new artificial intelligence-driven tool, ORAI, has been shortlisted for three categories at the prestigious British Data Awards 2026 – underscoring the company’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology to deliver better outcome for customers.
Barhale has completed work on two separate Rapid Action Taskforce Spills projects it is carrying out for Severn Trent.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.
Find out more about the remarkable career opportunities on offer at WSP - scroll down to watch the inspirational video.