Mullingar to benefit as Uisce Éireann progresses plan to pipe water from Limerick
Fixing leaks is never going to be enough to ensure that a Mullingar of 60,000 people has enough water, Uisce Éireann has warned this week.
What will however ensure that there is sufficient water to cater for the growth to 60,000 expected by 2044, is the measures contained in the new Water Supply Project, Eastern and Midlands Region which plans to pipe water from the Shannon to Dublin with spurs off the pipe to serve towns along the route.
The multi-billion euro project, which Uisce Éireann says will be one of the largest and most important infrastructure projects in the history of the state, has received cabinet approval in principle under the Infrastructure Guidelines.
As a result, it can now proceed to planning.
Announcing the project, Uisce Éireann said it will create a water spine across the country which will ensure an urban level of service to towns and regions from Tipperary to Dublin and Carlow to Drogheda.
In Westmeath, the project will provide the capacity for offtakes of treated water to Mullingar, which will provide the infrastructure needed to support significant population growth from 50,000 (2019 figures) to over 60,000 by 2044.
Says Uisce Éireann: “It will also provide the capacity and flexibility to support greater commercial water demand for existing businesses and potential future investment in these areas. Customers will also be less vulnerable to droughts and outages in supply.”
The developments to benefit Westmeath will be in addition to other significant investments by Uisce Éireann in the county. Said the firm: “Since 2014, the utility has invested circa €127 million in water and wastewater infrastructure projects in the county, with significant continued investment in infrastructure and programmes planned.”
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien said that an application to An Bord Pleanála in 2025 is anticipated.
“This marks an important first step in what is a multi-billion euro project which will ensure a sustainable water supply for our country both now and into the future,” he said.
“Not only that, but this project will enable much needed housing delivery. One of the key recommendations in the recently published Housing Commission report was to ‘take urgent action to ensure delivery of the critical Water Supply Project for the Eastern and Midlands Region’ and with cabinet approval, we are doing just that and showing our commitment to this project and to the future generations.”
Uisce Éireann CEO Niall Gleeson said: “The Water Supply Project is critical for the future of our country. By delivering a secure, climate-proof supply of water for up to 50% of the state’s population it will facilitate increased demand for housing, enable sustainable economic growth and support competitiveness across the region.”
Parteen
The Water Supply Project Eastern and Midlands Region proposes to abstract a maximum of 2% of the average flow of the River Shannon at Parteen Basin downstream of Lough Derg. Treated water will then be piped 170km through counties Tipperary, Offaly and Kildare to a termination point reservoir at Peamount in County Dublin, connecting to the Greater Dublin network.
Currently water supply in the Eastern and Midlands region faces a number of serious challenges, notably the over-reliance on the River Liffey to supply 1.7 million people in the Greater Dublin Area. With forecasts showing that the region will need 34% more water by 2044 than is available today, that combination of a growing water supply deficit and lack of supply resilience is not sustainable. Uisce Éireann has an ambitious National Leakage Reduction Programme to reduce leakage in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and Meath to 20% by 2030.
“However, fixing the leaks is not enough, the current situation of a growing water supply deficit and lack of supply resilience is not sustainable,” says Uisce Éireann.
Build time
The proposal approved in principle by cabinet is the culmination of extensive and detailed appraisal of potential solutions and alternatives in addition to extensive stakeholder and landowner engagement, the firm says.
To date, the project team has engaged with more than 1,500 stakeholders and Uisce Éireann has said it is committed to continuing engagement with all stakeholders including landowners and communities along the route.
There is to be a further round of non-statutory consultation before the project is submitted to An Bord Pleanála for planning approval next year; construction is estimated to take 4-5 years. The preliminary project cost estimate is €4.58 to €5.96 billion.