€4m work to upgrade Athlone water treatment plant set to begin
A major upgrade of Athlone's water treatment plant, in order to add capacity for the future growth and development of the town, will be getting underway in just over a week's time.
Veolia Water Ireland is carrying out the work, on behalf of Irish Water, and the upgrade is being completed in two phases.
The first phase, which will cost over €4 million, will commence on Monday, February 8, and is due to be completed by the end of this year.
Phase two will then follow in 2022, and is expected to be completed in 2024, Irish Water stated.
"The provision of safe, clean drinking water and safeguarding the water supply in Athlone and surrounding areas for the future is a priority for Irish Water," said John Gavin, Irish Water's Regional Operations Lead.
"The upgrade will increase capacity of the treatment plant and safeguard the supply for the social and economic development of Athlone.
"While Irish Water was progressing with plans to upgrade the water treatment plant, and in order to provide a more secure supply in Athlone in the short term, Irish Water accelerated our Leakage Reduction Programme last year to improve and secure water supply and reduce the need for water restrictions.
"These activities, and the activities of Westmeath County Council, have saved almost 1.5 million litres of water per day, improving our service to our customers in Athlone."
Martin Temple, Asset Delivery Lead for Irish Water, said the upgrade would "provide more robust treatment processes at the treatment plant, resulting in an improved water supply for customers, and allow capacity to be increased significantly in order to meet the demands for Athlone into the future."
Irish Water confirmed that the work is considered an essential project and therefore can begin during the current lockdown.
For a number of years, particularly between 2017 and 2019, Athlone was beset by regular water outages and interruptions to supply.
Irish Water said the upgrade project was needed because "the current water treatment plant cannot meet future growth and demand for water in the Athlone area."
Some work was carried out last year to temporarily boost capacity at the treatment plant in Marine View.