Wat-er Upgrade! £9 Million Investment at Fofanny Clear Water Tank Complete

04 December 2023 14:07

NI Water is pleased to announce that a £9 million investment to improve the security of the water supply for approximately 76,000 customers in large parts of County Down has been completed at Fofanny.

Tzvetelina Bogoina, NI Water’s Director of Infrastructure Delivery said:

 “We are delighted to announce the completion of this major investment at Fofanny, which will bring many improvements to our customers including improved security of the local water supply.

“The upgrade, which commenced in March 2022, involved the construction of a new water storage tank, which has a capacity of 10 million litres (10 megalitres), which is equivalent to 4 Olympic size swimming pools or 50,000 baths! The upgrade will provide additional water supply to customers, particularly during high demand emergency situations, when we may need additional time to shut down the main plant (Fofanny Water Treatment Works), while we complete other planned maintenance to our water supply network.”

“This £9 million investment will make a real difference to customers in parts of County Down. It is a good example of what can be done when the necessary funding is in place, highlighting the importance of this critical infrastructure and continued investment in our water and wastewater services.

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

Ciaran Moohan, GRAHAM Contracts Manager added:

“We are delighted to have delivered this project at Fofanny, with RPS Group and our supply chain for NI Water.

“This was a complex project in a scenic and rural setting which presented many challenges for our design team AECOM and TES, along with the construction crew on-site.

“A great achievement for the team – which will provide improved water supply in the local area”.

Vice Chair of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, Councillor Gareth Sharvin concluded:

“The Council welcomes this major investment in the area, which will mean a more robust and resilient water supply for local people. The project also provided a boost to the local construction sector, with the appointment of locally based contractor GRAHAM and other local businesses throughout the supply chain.”

Areas that will benefit from the new clear water tank at Fofanny include, Kilkeel, Rathfriland, Castlewellan, Dromore, Newry, and Warrenpoint.  

For further information and media enquiries please contact: press.office@niwater.com

Notes to editors:

• NI Water is ready to provide engineering solutions to short term constraints where possible. It is planned to invest £2.2 billion during the six-year PC21 period (2021/22 to 2026/27), with over £1bn being invested in wastewater assets.  However, the full scale of the wastewater capacity issues across Northern Ireland will realistically take at least 12 - 18 years, or two to three Price Control periods, to address. It is therefore critical that the PC21 business plan is fully funded in line with the Utility Regulators final determination.

• It’s clear to us all just how vital it is to protect the natural resources we all depend upon. To do this, we must invest in our vital water and wastewater infrastructure.  The need for increased investment is recognised across the water sector in UK and Ireland.

• Photo caption 1 (L-R) Craig Moore & Joseph Murphy RPS, Mark Richardson NI Water, PJ McCaffery, Ciaran Moohan GRAHAM, Vice-Chair Newry Mourne and Down Council-Councillor Gareth Sharvin, Director of Infrastructure Delivery Tzvetelina Bogoina, Louis Brunsdon NI Water, Enda Coen GRAHAM, Mark Mitchell and Martin Gillen from NI Water pictured at the new Fofanny Clear Water Tank.

• Photo Caption 2: A look back at the Fofanny Clear Water Tank under construction.

ENDS

Further information please contact press.office@niwater.com