§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the cost of the works recently completed at Altnaheglish reservoir.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe cost of the work was some £2.1 million, including professional fees.
§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will detail the principal works carried out to the Altnaheglish reservoir; by how much the height of the dam was increased; and by how much the storage capacity of the reservoir was increased in(a) gallons and (b) days supply.
§ Mr. NeedhamThe work at Altnaheglish included the strengthening of the dam by the construction of a series of terraces on the downstream side, the provision of a new spillway and the installation of new monitoring equipment.
The height of the dam has not been increased but the works have allowed the maximum water level to be raised some 5 m. This has increased the effective capacity of the reservoir by about 113 million gallons, which is equivalent to 23 days' consumption.