Leak fix will not deliver says Irish Water as Shannon to Dublin pipeline gets vote

Irish Water has begun consultation its preferred option for a new source of water for the east and middle of the country as abstracting water from the river Shannon to pipe it 170km to Dublin via communities in the midlands.

In its Final Options Appraisal Report on its Water Supply Project Irish Water said water conservation alone was not adequate to meet the needs of the region which needs an additional 330Ml a day by 2050. “While fixing leaks and water conservation initiatives will provide valuable water savings, on which we are already relying to help to meet demand, this will not provide a long term solution for our water supply requirements,” the company said.

The scheme will be the first new source of water for the region in more than 60 years and will meet the domestic,

commercial and industrial needs of over 40% of Ireland’s population to 2050.

The preferred scheme, according to Irish Water, will pipe sustainably abstracted and treated water the 170km from the Parteen Basin in County Tipperary to a reservoir in South County Dublin. Treated water would be made available to the Midlands en route to Dublin.

After looking at a number of other proposals the company came down to the Shannon to Dublin pipeline and a seawater desalination proposition. It said the desalination plan was rejected because it was Dublin focused, costly, carried greater environmental impact than the Shannon option and would not address the pressing need for increased water supplies for the midlands.