UISCE ÉIREANN HAS opened a public consultation on its draft Regional Water Resource Plan (NWRP) for the South East, inviting the public to outline issues related to water supply and suggest solutions to those problems.
The South East region covers counties Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wicklow and Wexford.
Uisce Éireann will be accepting submissions from today, with the consultation period ending on 3 October 2023.
The draft report currently identifies “progress made to date, for instance through leakage reductions, capital investment works, and works in progress.”
There are 143 water treatment plants in the counties covered by the South East plan, which collectively serve almost 370,000 people or around 9% of the population of Ireland and 29,700 businesses along approximately 17,730 kilometres of distribution network.
According to the water company, the aim of the NWRP is to “identify the needs across our existing supplies and the challenges and opportunities that we face over the coming years including legislation, climate change, the environment, growth and economic development.”
“The NWRP will allow us to understand the actions and activities required to transform our water supplies and provide a safe, secure, reliable, and sustainable water supply for our current and future customers,” a statement accompanying the announcement read.
“The NWRP will also provide a transparent roadmap on how Uisce Éireann will plan for its water assets to align with national policy.”
At a national level, the plan has been divided into four different parts based on location. They include the South East, South West, North West and the Eastern and Midlands regions. Each region is to have its own consultation and report process that will then contribute to an overall nationwide plan.
Speaking at the launch of the public consultation, Mairéad Conlon, regional water resources strategy lead for Uisce Éireann said:
“The development of a draft plan on how Uisce Éireann will supply water across the South East region is an important step. It will allow Uisce Éireann to review water supply needs across the region and consider local options to resolve these needs.”
“The draft Regional Plan will offer key benefits in terms of transformation of our supplies, including the ability to cater for growth and economic development in a sustainable way, through improved interconnectivity between our supplies to ensure balanced regional development and new sustainable water sources that are adaptable to climate change.”
“The draft plan sets out how we envisage water will be supplied to homes and businesses across counties Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Wicklow and Wexford over the next 25 years.
“Our team hopes to meet as many people as possible and hear from them about their local areas, to ensure that our plan is the best fit for the South East region,” she explained.
Public webinars will be held by Uisce Éireann in July and September this year, which will provide information and allow opportunities for people to pose questions.
Those who wish to take part can register your interest on their website here.
You can find information on making a submission here.
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