Construction of Lough Derg Pipe expected to start in 2027

THE construction of the Pipe from Lough Derg to Dublin is expected to start in a couple of years time, members of Uisce Éireann told the Tribune during an information / consultation evening held in Birr last week.
The Tribune spoke to Camilla Tunney, Technical Communications Lead in Uisce Éireann, and Maria O'Dwyer, Infrastructure Delivery Director Uisce Éireann, who pointed out that Uisce Éireann hopes to submit the planning application for the Pipe by the end of 2025 (following the go-ahead given by the Government cabinet last summer to submit planning).
The Pipe, the technical name for which is the Water Supply Project for the Eastern and Midlands Region, will be 170 kilometres long and will transport water to the Greater Dublin Area from Parteen Basin, through Tipperary, Offaly and Kildare, to a termination point reservoir in County Dublin.
“An Bord Pleanála is expected to make a decision in 2027”, Ms O'Dwyer told the Tribune, “and we hope to go to construction within a 12 month period. The construction period is expected to take five years and, all going to plan, the pipe will be up and running by 2032.”
She said the company has been engaging with landowners for several years. “We have received 300 reroute requests from landowners and farmers,” she remarked, “a third of which we will partly accommodate."
The Infrastructure Delivery Director said the company is holding a series of information / consultation evenings. “These evenings have been well attended. 50 people attended the information meeting in Ballina, 125 in Nenagh, 100 in Tullamore and 75 in Birr. The evenings have been very positive. There is a lot of good will towards the project.”
She said details on how to make a submission can be found on Www.water.ie/
watersupplyproject. Members of the public can also call 01 202770 or email watersupply@water.ie.
The Director said the ESB will look after the water levels in the Shannon system and the water level in the Parteen Basin will never fall below 2%. She said the water level in Lough Derg will not be affected.
She pointed out that the company has spent many millions of Euro in recent years fixing leaks in Dublin. “By 2030 the leaks level in Dublin will be less than 20%. It is 32% now. When we started it was in the high 40s in percentage terms. Even with below 20% leakage in Dublin we will still need a new source of water. The River Liffey is currently over-stressed. It is giving to 1.7 million people in the Greater Dublin area 85% of their water.”
Ms Tunney commented that as the Pipe runs through the country it will benefit many communities. For example it will benefit Mullingar, where there is a critical need for a proper water service at the moment. Other places with an urgent need for a decent water service include Newport and Killaloe. The Pipe has the potential to service up to 50% of the country.
Ms Tunney said that at the moment €4.6 billion to €6 billion is the expected cost of the overall project.
The Pipe will have a diameter of 1.6 metres. It will be buried beneath the ground, so it will not be visible. The land will be restored to what it was. Therefore if it had been once used for grazing cattle then it will return to that use. During the construction phase the gash / trench in the ground will have a total width of 50 metres. There will be a permanent Way Leave so that no building will be permitted on an area 20 metres either side of the pipe.
“We hope to secure the Way Leaves through voluntary agreements,” said the Infrastructure Delivery Director. “Failing that, we will go the CPO route. We have had 90% access rates thus far to survey the land, to carry out site investigations. There has been a lot of good will. There will be monetary compensation for farmers for the disturbances. How much the compensation will be hasn't yet been determined. It will be fair. We have had compensation discussions with the ICMSA and the IFA.”
The Tribune pointed out that there are about a thousand Wastewater Treatment Plants in Ireland and quite a few of these are at capacity or near capacity, which is preventing essential building work during a Housing Crisis. The Director said Uisce Éireann is very conscious of this and is doing its best to remedy it. She pointed out that there's good news locally “because we have a planning application for an upgrade to Nenagh Wastewater Treatment Plant to start construction by the end of 2025.”
The Tribune also learned that the Pipe will go under the Camcor River near Birr and there will be two unmanned substations in its vicinity. Uisce Éireann says this will in no way affect the water level of the Camcor. The Pipe will run under a number of rivers, streams and roads.