Case Study
Luimnagh Water Treatment Plant
Overview
Ryan Hanley was appointed by Galway County Council to design the Tuam RWSS overall scheme to supply 400km² of Northeast County Galway, an area serving 40% of the population residing in the administrative area of Galway County Council.
- The water abstraction and Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at Luimnagh, and
- A central storage Reservoir site at Knockacarrigeen, 11 kilometres apart.
The Stage 1 works also included the provision of a pumped rising main between the two sites and a trunk arterial network from Knockacarrigeen to supply Tuam Town.
The Tuam RWSS supplies 400km² of Northeast County Galway, an area serving 40% of the population residing in the administrative area of Galway County Council. Prior to the design and implementation of this Stage 1 scheme in 1998 and subsequent scheme stages of network and storage reservoir development (1999-2009), the supply area was supplied by three public water supplies and seventy-five different Group Water Schemes (GWS) distributing drinking water from a multiplicity of raw water sources with variable contaminant ranges and sub-optimal treatment and disinfection infrastructure.
The Luimnagh WTP project involved the detailed design of the plant upgrade including the following
modifications to the process and pumping capacity, thereby increasing treatment capacity from 21 MLD
to 48 MLD:
- Raw water abstraction works in Ballinduff Bay, Lough Corrib.
- Screen House, Raw Pumping Station, and 2,500m³ capacity Raw Water Balancing Tank
- Construction of three new reinforced concrete filters.
- Clarifier upgrade by retrofitting of a parallel lamella plate system into the eight existing sedimentation tanks and increasing the filtration capacity.
- Upgrading the raw water pumping plant (five 90kW centrifugal pumps on a 3 duty, 2 standby basis) and treated water pumping plant (three 900kW centrifugal pumps on a 2 duty, 1 standby basis).
- Associated upgrade of MV transformers and switchgear.
- Treated water holding tank with a capacity of 3,750m³
- Installation of a UV disinfection system.
The Luimnagh Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Project with Ryan Hanley represents a significant
investment in the region’s water infrastructure, ensuring safe, reliable, and high-quality water supply for
years to come.
