End in Sight for Brown Water

Cavan Hill Upgrade Gets Green Light

For years, many Dundalk households have been reporting instances of the water turning unpleasantly brown, often forcing people to run taps for ages or switch to bottled for drinking and cooking. The main culprit? Elevated levels of naturally occurring manganese in the raw water from the source, which spikes seasonally (in warm weather) and leads to discolouration in the network.

Uisce Éireann has now approved permanent upgrades at the Cavan Hill Water Treatment Plant to install specialised new filters that proved highly effective in a 2024 pilot study. This study was undertaken after councilors, including myself, met with engineers in 2024 to emphasises that this problem could not go on. These will significantly reduce manganese levels at source, meaning the seasonal brown water issues that have plagued the area—particularly noticeable over the past two summers—should finally become a thing of the past.

Works are set to start on site later in 2026, once a contractor is appointed early this year. Ian Walsh from Uisce Éireann said: “We are delighted to confirm that the Cavan Hill Water Treatment Plant Upgrade will move forward in 2026. These works will ensure we can deliver long-term improvements to water quality for the communities served by Cavan Hill.”

The upgrade builds on recent progress: the proactive network flushing programme has already cut discolouration reports sharply this year, as noted by Water Network Operations Manager James O’Hagan: “The proactive flushing programme has been hugely successful... We are committed to maintaining these improvements.”

Cllr Fisher commented to say:

'I'm very pleased to see this much needed upgrade happening. I was quietly confident that it was on the way. Two years ago, a number of Dundalk councilors arranged a meeting with Irish water to flag how bad the water quality was in some areas. I even brought a brown sample with me, to show them.

We learned about a pilot they were about to start to see about reducing Manganese, which a French firm, who had encountered the same in France was carrying out - last year it was revealed that it was a successful pilot, and now what we are seeing is this extra filtering process being expanded, which is why an upgrade is needed.

But it's good to see, and I did put on my flyers for the local elections, I wanted to advocate for better water quality for Dundalk. I'm very pleased to have made a difference and to have played a role in lobbying for this upgrade.

This is a practical win for Dundalk and surrounding areas served by the Cavan Hill supply—clearer, more reliable tap water year-round (which should be expected), no more summer surprises.'

Uisce Éireann will keep stakeholders updated; more at www.water.ie.