Water Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region
Uisce Éireann’s purpose is to rise to the challenge of delivering transformative water services that enable communities to thrive. Today, with just one source the River Liffey supplying 85% of the water requirements for 1.7 million people in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) comprising Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, we cannot achieve this. We urgently need a new source to provide a safe, secure resilient supply of water to meet the needs of homes and business now and into the future. The pressure on our capacity to supply water is a challenge on a daily basis, due to ageing infrastructure, a growing population and economy and the impacts of climate change. Even when we reach our target to bring leakage to below 20% in the Greater Dublin Area by 2030 this will not address our resilience and our lack of supply. The solution is the Water Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region, which will provide a sustainable climate proof solution up to 2044 and beyond. This is a critical national infrastructure project which has the capacity to support water supply needs of up to 50% of our population. It is supported in the National Planning Framework and National Development Plan, along with the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy for the Eastern and Midlands Region.
The project has the capacity to support water supply needs of up to 50% of the population
The Water Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region will serve the Greater Dublin Area in addition to benefitting the wider Eastern and Midlands Region
- The proposed project is consistent with the regional solution identified in Uisce Éireann’s Regional Development Plan for the Eastern and Midlands Region.
- The Water Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region (the “Water Supply Project”) will abstract water from the lower River Shannon at Parteen Basin in Co. Tipperary, downstream of Lough Derg with water treatment at Birdhill.
- Treated water will be piped 170km through Tipperary, Offaly and Kildare to a termination point reservoir at Peamount in County Dublin, connecting into the Greater Dublin Area water supply network with capacity to provide water to communities along the route.
- The Water Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region proposes to abstract just 2% of the average flow of the River Shannon.
The interconnection of supplies will provide improved security of supply to homes and businesses and reduce the vulnerability to climate change
- The Water Supply Project – Eastern and Midlands Region will enable us to meet the challenges of climate change by diversifying our water supplies.
- It will provide the Greater Dublin Area of Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow with a resilient, safe, secure water supply.
- It will also have capacity to serve communities along the route in Newport, Killaloe, Dunkerrin, Moneygall and Borrisokane in North Tipperary, and Tullamore in Offaly and Mullingar in Westmeath.
- In addition, 17 supplies currently serving Dublin can be redirected back to Louth, Meath, Kildare, Carlow and Wicklow, which will support balanced regional development.