The Dromore community drinking supply will be shut down on Wednesday 22 October from 9am until 2pm as part of preliminary work to replace the main pipeline that distributes water to households on the rural supply.

During the shutdown, contractors working for council will replace valves and flowmeters where the pipe connects to the water treatment plant.

The wider project involves renewing 5.1km pipe that distributes water to 80 connections and contractor Fulton Hogan has already begun trenching work to install the pipe underground.

Group Manager of Infrastructure Neil McCann said the old watermain was more than 50 years old and needed replacing,

“Replacing the water main is one half of an upgrade for the Dromore water supply, with work also underway to build a new water treatment plant to house UV equipment.

"The new valves and flowmeters being installed next week will enable easier connection to the new water treatment plant when it is finished, hopefully by the end of the year.”

Mr McCann said many rural households on the supply had their own storage tanks and would not be affected by the shutdown.

“Households without storage should fill some containers with water they might need for drinking or cooking during the shutdown, and fill a bucket with water to flush the toilet if needed.”

Water treatment plant update

Work began in September on the new water treatment plant.

The upgrade will add additional cartridge filtration and UV disinfection, and the new equipment will be housed in a new block building, near the supply’s 102m deep well.

The work at Dromore is being undertaken by ARC Projects and on track to be completed by December. Two new 30,000-litre reservoirs will also be added, doubling the current volume of treated water able to be stored before distribution.

The upgrade is part of a $10 million package of work to ensure all of council’s 10 drinking water supplies have a UV step, as required by new drinking water rules.