|
|
Major leaks in Dam
pipeline
26.03.08
Story: Inishowen Independent
A ROW is about to break
out over serious leaks that have beset a pipeline
carrying water from the Fullerton Pollan Dam in
Buncrana to south Inishowen and the Lagan Desert
in east Donegal.
The pipeline needs major repair work less than seven
years after it was laid and questions are being
asked over who will have to foot the bill – the
council, the Department of the Environment, or the
firm that carried out the work.
Metal bolts used to join sections of the pipeline –
which is 16 inches in diameter – are thought to be
at fault. The land in which the pipeline is buried,
known locally as the Slab, was reclaimed from the
sea and the salty soil is corroding the bolts,
weakening the joints and causing catastrophic leaks. |
 |
The 2km stretch of
pipeline runs through the Grianán Estate in Burt and
has ruptured a number of times in recent months with
hundreds of thousands of gallons of water leaking
into farmland and the resulting loss of pressure
affecting the water supply in homes from Fahan to
Killea.
It is understood that engineers working on the
construction of the pipeline were advised to weld
rather than bolt the joints and it is now feared
that costly repairs will lead to severe disruption
of the water supply to thousands of homes.
Newtowncunningham-based county councillor Francis
Conaghan of Fianna Fáil has tabled a question to
next Monday’s meeting of Donegal County Council
seeking information on the problem.
Describing it as a “major engineering fault”, Cllr
Conaghan asked who will have to foot the repair
bill.
“This problem needs to be dealt with and it
shouldn’t be left to the county council,” he said.
“The Department of the Environment funded the
project and those who oversaw and carried out the
work will have to stand over it.”
The land through which the pipeline runs is owned by
Donegal Creameries. Spokesman Gareth Whitmore said
that the company wasn’t aware of the problem. “But
this clearly affects a lot of people, and while we
haven’t been approached as yet, we will work with
the council to facilitate whatever repairs are
necessary.”
The Fullerton Pollan Dam was built at cost of IR£27
million (€34.2 million) and completed in 1998. |
|
