Uisce Éireann is getting work underway with crews arriving on site to deliver major wastewater upgrades for three Donegal communities.

Investment in Carrigart, Kilmacrennan and Mountcharles, totalling almost €30 million, will bring improvements in water quality and enable growth in all three villages.

All three projects will also benefit the local environment, in particular the local waterways.

In Carrigart, work has begun on upgrading the existing treatment plant which will ensure the wastewater is treated to a standard that protects the environment. The works will put a stop to partially treated wastewater being discharged to Carrigart Bay and Mulroy Bay and also deliver additional capacity for the area.

In Kilmacrennan, where the wastewater infrastructure is also overloaded which can lead to partially treated wastewater discharging to the River Lurgy, Uisce Éireann has a new wastewater treatment plant on the horizon. The new plant will serve a population equivalent of 1,250 people and will include flood protection measures. Before the water company can begin to build the new plant and replace hundreds of metres of existing sewer network, it is decommissioning the existing underperforming treatment plant and constructing a temporary plant for the interim of the project.

Mountcharles is the third village to see a large investment in wastewater infrastructure. Uisce Éireann crews will decommission existing treatment plants at Mountcharles and Hall Demesne, construct new pumping stations and link them to the Donegal Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Murphy Ireland is carrying out the work on behalf of Uisce Éireann on all three projects with completion dates in 2026.

The works will bring “tangible benefits to all three communities and the environment”, according to Uisce Éireann’s Programme Manager Conor Delaney.

“Each one of these projects is a significant investment which will boost the areas by enhancing the local environment, improving water quality and ensuring that the wastewater infrastructure has capacity to meet future development needs in the area.”

Uisce Éireann’s investment in Donegal has led to upgraded wastewater treatment in several communities including Gweedore, Letterkenny, Kilcar, and Kerrykeel.

The SWELL project, backed by €35 million in EU funding, has further improved water quality in Carlingford Lough, Lough Foyle, benefitting Carrigans, Killea, Lifford, Omeath, Warrenpoint, Strabane, and Donemana.

Other projects, including Burtonport and Coolatee, are nearing completion and will soon end the daily discharge of raw sewage into the Foyle and Deele rivers, as well as into the sea. Significant progress is being made on the €31 million investment to improve the wastewater network in Buncrana, Ballybofey, and Stranorlar, preventing stormwater overflows and benefitting Lough Swilly and the River Finn.

Additionally, a €50 million investment in Ramelton, Milford, and Rathmullan is also underway, aiming to end the historical sewage discharge into Leannan Estuary, Lough Swilly, and Maggie’s Burn.