IRISH WATER HAS announced plans to submit a planning application for a new pipeline connecting water from the River Shannon to Dublin and many other parts of Leinster.
It comes after compiling a report on how to meet what it called the urgent water needs of the eastern and midlands region, that cannot be met by “fixing leaks alone”.
Its proposals would see the abstraction of water from the lower Shannon at Parteen Basin in Co Tipperary, with water treatment nearby at Birdhill.
Water would then be piped 170km to a termination point reservoir at Peamount in Dublin, which would then be connected to the greater Dublin network.
Irish Water said that communities in north Tipperary, Offaly, Laois, Westmeath, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow would benefit from possible future off-shoots from the pipeline.
As well as Dublin, the most urgent needs are currently found in the Mullingar area and the area of east Meath that borders the greater Dublin region.
These proposals come on the back of an extensive public consultation, the utility said, with over 1,000 stakeholders participating.
It said that this upgrade – which would be the first major one to the water network in this country for 60 years – was necessary to meet the growing population in greater Dublin and the midlands.
An extra 330 million litres of water a day will be needed by 2050 based on population growth and economic growth projections, it said.
Head of asset management at Irish Water Sean Laffey said that the issues raised by the public had been carefully considered as part of the plans.
He said in a statement: “The future water needs of Dublin and the midlands cannot be met by fixing leaks alone. Leakage in the Greater Dublin Area network is at 36% and there are 9,000km of water pipes with over 600,000 connections.
Irish Water is now satisfied beyond doubt that the preferred Parteen Basin option is the correct scheme and its delivery is critical for the future. This option will bring the widest benefit to the greatest number of people with the least environmental impact and in the most cost-effective manner.
Laffey added the utility plans to submit a planning application to An Bord Pleanála in 2019.
Emma Kennedy, from Kennedy Analysis, was critical of the plans, accusing Irish Water of presenting a “misleading story when it comes to Dublin’s leaks”.
“Because of the state of Dublin’s pipes, they will continue to be condemned to water outages like they experienced during Storm Emma recently,” she said.
Kennedy is due to appear before the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government alongside Irish Water on the Shannon project tomorrow.
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