Focus on Castlebaldwin Group Water Scheme

The second largest scheme in the county, Castlebaldwin GWS has 300 domestic connections and almost 40 miles of network covering a large area of south east Sligo.

As with several other group schemes in this part of Sligo, Castlebaldwin extracts water from Lough Arrow. This is pumped to three holding tanks in upland areas before being gravity fed to local homes and farms. Pressure was poor on a remote section of the scheme and this was revamped in 1996 when a reservoir was installed to service the 20 homes involved. From a high vantage point on Carrowkeel, the extensive scale of the scheme is evident, with the need to install a new 3.5km rising main from the intake works on the lough to the reservoirs. A new 100,000 gallon reservoir is also being installed. The Castlebaldwin Group Scheme Committee plan to finance the 15% on the civil works through a local levy and an energetic sub-committee is in place to raise the necessary finance.

DBO Contractors TSSL ensure best practice is observed in relation to the management infrastructure and service delivery during the service phase of the project. TSSL Director Seamus Crickley commend the close working relationship between Rural Water Liaison Officer Kathleen McTiernan and the various Group Scheme Committees. According to Mr Crickley ‘a spirit of partnership is critical to the success of DBO projects, particularlyduring the 20 year period of an operation and maintenance contract.’