£13m treatment investment finished at Drumaroad site

£13m treatment investment finished at Drumaroad site

20 October 2021

WORK on a £13m investment to improve the security of the water supply for customers in large areas of Co Down and Belfast has been completed at the Drumaroad water treatment plant.

The Northern Ireland Water project is one of the largest improvement schemes the organisation has carried out over recent years and has been designed to bring a range of improvements to customers.

A new water storage tank will serve the existing Drumaroad and Chapel Hill water pumping stations to supply treated water for distribution areas, while an additional pumping station was  constructed to transfer flows outside normal operating conditions which will provide extra resilience to the network.

NI Water’s project manager, Mark Richardson, explained that the upgrade involved the construction of a new water storage tan, which has a capacity of 36 million litres, which is equivalent to 14 Olympic size swimming pools.

“The upgrade will provide additional water supply to customers, particularly during emergency situations, when we may need to shut down the main plant or when we complete other planned maintenance to our water supply network.” he continued.

“I would like to thank the NI Water project team including contractor Graham and RPS, who provided project management and technical support.”

Mr Richardson added: “The team successfully completed the new tank, while ensuring our customer’s water supply wasn’t interrupted during construction. This major project will provide improved local water supply for many years to come.”

Stormont infrastructure minister, Nichola Mallon, said the completion of the £13m scheme is welcome news for the 540,000 people – a quarter of the Northern Ireland population - who will benefit directly from increased resilience and security of water supply.

She added: “This investment will make a real difference to the lives of people living and working in parts of Co Down and Belfast, particularly during emergency situations. “This highlights the high returns that can be gained when we invest in our water and wastewater services and demonstrates the importance of continued investment in this critical infrastructure.”