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IRISH WATER PLANS to spend €200 million upgrading the Vartry Water treatment plant after receiving planning permission from Wicklow County Council.
The upgrade comes as the Vartry water supply scheme and the Mid-Wicklow supplies have been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as being at risk of failing to meet the requirements of the national safe drinking water standards.
Irish Water have welcomed the decision by Wicklow County Council with project manager with Irish Water Geoff O’Sullivan stating, “We welcome this planning permission as an important step in securing the drinking water to the Vartry Water Supply area of north Wicklow and south Dublin.
“The scheme has had no major upgrade since it was built over 150 years ago and is now in need of urgent investment. Irish Water will invest up to €200 million in the upgrade of this priority project.”
Construction on the project is expected to start in late 2017, early 2018 and is expected to take 36 months to complete.
However, Social Democrats councillor Jennifer Whitmore of Greystones expressed disappointment that the project got planning permission. “I’m disappointed [the scheme] got planning permission without an environmental impact statement.
“I do understand the need for an upgrade of the system, but there is a need to balance this with environmental concerns.”
Needs more information
Cllr Whitmore went on to state that she wasn’t for or against the upgrade but a scheme of this size needs to have all the information available to make a full decision on the project.
Two groups in the area have been objecting to the upgrade to the Vartry water supply scheme on environmental grounds, the Vartry Anglers Conservation Club and River Vartry Protection Society.
Luke Drey of the Vartry Anglers Conservation Club said about the project, “It’s about responsible management of the river [Vartry] basin and [Irish Water] are looking to extract further water from the catchment”.
Mr Drey and the Vartry Anglers Conservation Club are concerned with the effects of extracting more water from the river might have on current fish stocks as well as on the ecology of the area.
Mr Drey said that this issue is strong within the community and they plan on taking their objections further, “We’re going to object to An Bord Pleanála, then to the judicial. the High Court, the Supreme Court and then to Europe if we have to” said Mr Drey.
In a statement released by Irish Water they have said that the project will not be abstracting any additional water from the River Vartry.
“Irish Water confirm they will not be abstracting any additional water from the River Vartry. The proposed works will improve the quality of drinking water from a plant that is 150 years old and meet current drinking water standards.
“The future operation of the water treatment plant will ensure that flows in the river downstream from the plant will have the added benefit of guaranteeing at least 5 million litres per day is always released to the river.”
No major upgrade in 150 years
The Vartry plant currently services over 200,000 people across north Wicklow and south Dublin, was constructed over 150 years ago and according to Irish Water has not received a major upgrade since it was built.
The upgrade will allow Irish Water to extend the supply network from Vartry to other areas in Mid-Wicklow including Rathdrum, Avoca, Annamoe, and Redcross among others.
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The headline should read “The Taxpayer to pump €200 into plant” considering we already pay for our water..
@Cosmo Kramer: Correct. Also, apparently, we will now be paying the company known as irish water to buy our own water back from them. Lunacy.
What it should actually read is “Irish Water to hyperbolise situation and dump massive sums of money into infrastructure so taxpayer is invested”.
Lunacy is believing that if we can go back to the way it was & everything will be grand. The councils will keep the water flowing somehow & we can keep pumping sewage into our rivers. Lunacy is not recognising that the big increase in funding needed will not mean a increase in tax somehow.
Ah stop Journal… Enough with IW…
I’d say its pure coincidence they’re talking about this today, right at the time when the Govt. are trying to convince everyone on the water charges argument.
Get lost with the IW “good news” stories. Irish Water are pumping nothing. It’s OUR money that’s being used.
IW is the most hated brand in Ireland. Most in the country with NEVER engage with IW or pay them a cent. They are finished. If they are not shut down, metering stopped and water enshrined under public ownership in the constitution there will be hell to pay.
WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH PAYING AND PAYING FOR INCOMPETENCE AND CORRUPTION
Sure what’s another 200 million of tax payers money.
@Tom Thumb:
To IW? Nothing – gotta fund those “sit on your arse” bonuses somehow
Don’t have a problem with €200m been spent on a needed up grades. It is after all tax payers money been spent on tax payers. But how much have the consultants already been paid before the project even starts. So we can know the true total cost.
@Thomas Maher:
Apparently the total cost squandered so far by the unwanted IW is over €3.7 billion and I would guess that nobody will have to answer to anybody over this shameless fiasco as per usual.
Behavioual therapy for all through the media. Nudge nudge…
Lads it’s over. Just stop.
Better than wasting money on meters
Like millions haven’t been wasted already on meters
The other article on water charges and washing your car with ballygowan has disappeared or is it just me. ?
@Shane Terry: it’s still there.
I wonder how much Ballygowan pay for their water, they better not be robbing it from that well.
About time, its their problem even though they try to blame the the People.
We faithfully paid our car tax every year and the vat on everything we buy and you didn’t put it aside for this, thinking the people would just put their hands in their pockets get this those days are gone i for one have no respect for any p
It’s not like it their money, Irish water use tax payers money for needed repairs
I turned 50 in Septemper, still feel like I’m 21, but anyway never for those 50 years did I ever run out of water, its all about conservation don’t you know conservation I sell you!.
@Curragh Bill: The country is literally drowning tens times over in fresh water yet we still hear the conservation argument, most of our fresh water is never utilised because it just keeps on flowing into the sea, because we have goddamn too much of the stuff!
@Curragh Bill: Conservation what a ridiculous red herring, you can shower till the cows come home before Irish Water ever existed, and funny we still seem to have a surplus of fresh water?
@Curragh Bill:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/germany-s-eco-trap-is-environmentalism-really-working-a-751469-3.html
Read this link if you want we want to rid ourselves of the that ridiculous red herring conservation, seriously well worth checking out this link.
Eh so bill, according to you we have so much freshwater we don’t even use all of it? Did you just want to drain the rivers/lakes completely? Anyway conservation could be as much if not more to do with use of chemicals and electricity and the environmental impact rather than water?
Great news. Now let’s all hope that this benefits only those who have expressed willingness to pay for water and should not include those who sound like a pack of drunk parrots saying “we already pay”. We need to pay a separate utility bill for water services, the idea that it should continue to come out of general taxation lets a lot of people off the hook. Will they be out protesting for those who break a sweat and work hard for what they have? Not a chance!!
@Nick Drake: Nick why didnt you come out with this idea years ago? Is it not because your a bluer than blue blueshirt? The likes of you see nothing wrong with what has been going on in this country for the last 10 years. No you would rather attack the most vunerable instead of the ones who caused this mess in the first place. Just for once put people before party would that be to much to ask?
And There’s Layabouts in every town in Ireland that don’t want to pay for their water.. Tut Tut
The water level in the reservoir in question is very very low.
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