No masking Mayo students’ enthusiasm at treatment plant visit

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Transition Year students from schools across Mayo and Galway paid a visit to the Lough Mask Water Treatment Plant on Friday afternoon last to learn about the processes that go into treating raw water to make it safe for domestic use.

The Lough Mask WTP, perched high on a hillside just outside Tourmakeady, is one of the biggest and most productive plants in the west of Ireland, supplying clean water to homes across South Mayo and North Galway, as far west as Louisburgh and as far east as Ballinlough in West Roscommon.

The ten students, drawn from Transition Year classes in Sacred Heart College in Westport, Sancta Maria of Louisburgh and St Joseph’s College of Castlebar in Co Mayo, and High Cross College in Tuam, took part in the site visit as part of a six-week STEM Programme with Uisce Éireann.

Before travelling to Tourmakeady, the students were given a presentation by Ger Cafferkey (Asset Strategy Technical Lead) on the importance of catchment and abstraction management. David Henry (Project Manager, Delivery), then provided the students with a concise overview of the planned upgrades at Lough Mask.

After induction, the tour began at the pumping station on the shore of Lough Mask, from which raw lake water is pumped up to the plant, and ended where the clean, treated water is taken by gravity flow to reservoirs and on to homes and businesses across South Mayo and beyond.

Led by Conor O’Toole, the WTP Supervisor, Ronan McDonnell (Operations Technical Lead) and Eoin Hughes (North West Water Process Optimisation Manager), the students received a detailed tour of the plant, outlining each stage in the water treatment process.

The students were shown the plant’s operations room, which provides the operatives with real-time information on water quality and production output. They were then brought to the raw water balance tanks, before progressing on to the sedimentation tanks, filtration tanks and disinfection chambers, where the treated water is made safe for domestic use.

Finally, they were shown the laboratory and given demonstrations of the chemical tests carried out to ensure the water leaving the plant is compliant with regulations. These demonstrations were led excellently by operational personnel Michael Lally and Paul Thomas.

Eoin Hughes said the STEM programme is a valuable opportunity to educate young people about the work that goes into managing and protecting our water resources.

“The students were really engaged and curious to learn about the water treatment process during our visit,” said Eoin. “At Uisce Éireann we’re always keen to show young people how we enable our communities to thrive, and to demonstrate the various highly-skilled careers paths available to them in the water services sector.

“I’d like to thank Conor and his team for facilitating the visit and sharing their experience and expertise with the students, and also the students themselves and their teachers for their enthusiasm,” continued Eoin.

Conor McGreal and Jack McDowell, both from Sancta Maria College in Louisburgh, said they found the visit to the plant interesting. 
“Especially the treatment part, how clear they can make the water,” offered Conor.

Abigail Marley, Ciara Brennan and Layala Murray, all from Sacred Heart School in Westport, said that they have an interest in science and that their favourite part of the tour was seeing the water being tested in the laboratory. They have been enjoying their STEM programme with Uisce Éireann so far.

“I’ve enjoyed the more practical work, and it’s been interesting to see the work that goes into getting our water to us. There’s a lot of stuff you wouldn’t really think about,” said Ciara.