News Release Page Title

4 March 2005

WATER SERVICE INVESTS £12 MILLION IN NEW WATER TREATMENT WORKS

Katharine Bryan, Chief Executive of Water Service, officially opened the new £12 million Lough Macrory Water Treatment Works near Omagh, today.

Unveiling a plaque to mark the opening, Katharine Bryan said: "This new Lough Macrory Water Treatment Works will ensure compliance with demanding European Union drinking water quality standards. It treats 18 million litres of water per day and will supply high quality drinking water to the people of Omagh and surrounding area."

Welcoming the announcement, Regional Development Minister, John Spellar, MP, said: "The new Lough Macrory Works is part of a significant investment to upgrade Northern Ireland’s water and sewerage infrastructure. Government has allocated around £735 million up to 2008, to build on the good progress already made towards providing modern services that will meet customers’ needs, well into the future.

"We need £3 billion over the next 20 years to protect public health, meet European standards on water quality and respond to increasing demand. Without water and sewerage charges, we cannot sustain this investment, unless we take money away from other priority services."

With the opening of the new Lough Macrory Works, customers in the Omagh District Council area are now served by four modern water treatment works that have been designed to meet EC water quality requirements.

Katharine Bryan said: "This Works is the first project completed under Water Service’s Water Quality and Treatment Framework Agreement. This provides a framework for Water Service to work strategically with a small group of companies, to deliver the water treatment investment programme in a cost-effective and timely manner.

"The Works utilises sophisticated treatment processes to produce a high standard of drinking water and incorporates a highly advanced system that allows all water, used during the treatment process, to be fully recycled."

This scheme was partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

  1. The consortium responsible for the construction of the new works was: Earth Tech Engineering and Farrans (Construction) Ltd (main joint venture contractors), Delap & Waller (project managers) and McAdam Design (structural and civil designers).

  2. For media enquiries, contact DRD Press Office on Tel: 028 9054 0004.

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