A Water Order secured under the 1942 Water Supplies Act gave the right to abstract up to 54,145m3 of water per day from Lough Mask. The phased development involved the provision of a supply connection to Westport Town from the Lough Mask Regional Water Supply Scheme at a location near to the treatment plant at Tourmakeady.
TOBIN prepared a Preliminary Report for Mayo County Council which identified Lough Mask as the future source for water supply for Central, South and East Mayo inclusive of Westport. Following the initial supply of treated water to Castlebar, the Scheme has developed in numerous stages in the intervening years.
The supply of potable water from the end of the treatment process at the Tourmakeady Water Treatment Plant to Westport was entirely gravitational over a distance in excess of 22km. Any alternative options for the supply of water to Westport was from the LMRWSS which involved pressure boosting.
Where possible, the pipeline route was selected off road in order to avoid the generation of waste from road surface which as it would have ultimately gone to landfill.
The pipeline was designed as a fully welded high pressure main suitable for the variable ground conditions encountered along the route, which was designed to minimise maintenance and repair. In an off-road location, the pipeline was backfilled above the pipe surround with on-site materials as opposed to imported materials.
In the construction of the reinforced concrete reservoir the use of Ground Granulated Blastfurnace Slag (GGBS) was permitted in the production of concrete.
The source of water for the Scheme in Lough Mask was assessed and eventually to determined as sustainable.
