To Houses of the Oireachtas,
Joint Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and Gaeltacht.
Strategic overview on Water Services Dublin Region
Thank you,
Chairman and members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment, Transport,
Culture and Gaeltacht for the invitation issued on 7th September 2011 to the Dublin City
Manager to address the Joint Committee at it’s meeting today and to assist the Committee
in it’s consideration of the topic of “Water Provision” in Autumn 2011.
As the Manager, John Tierney, is on holidays out of the country I, Seamus Lyons, as
Assistant City Manager with responsibility in this area and Tom Leahy, Executive Manager
(Engineering) will address you and seek to answer any questions you may have.
The particular topic is quite broad and to assist the Committee this briefing paper on
Strategic Water Services in the Dublin Region has been prepared along with some
accompanying slides. A selected extract from the full slide presentation will be used during
the delivery of the opening statement.
Introduction –Strategic Overview
The Dublin Water Supply Region serves almost 40% of the National Population and is jointly
managed by 7 Local Authorities (Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, South Dublin
County Council, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Kildare County Council, Wicklow
County Council and Bray Urban District Council). This shared services model delivers
economies of scale for consumers and facilitates overall strategic planning of Water Services
in conjunction with Central Government. Capital Funding for Water Services is provided
through the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG) Water
Services Investment Programme (WSIP) in accordance with water pricing policies set by
Central Government.
Water services include drinking water, wastewater disposal and stormwater management.
In taking into account these needs, due regard has been taken of the relevant National and
EU Environmental, Public Health and Water Quality Statutory Requirements and Standards
-2and the recently adopted Eastern River Basin District River Basin Management Plan &
Programme of Measures which sets out a Plan and Programme to Implement the EU Water
Framework Directive. Dublin City is the co-ordinating Local Authority charged with coordination of the 12 Local Authorities and 33 Public Bodies in the Eastern River Basin
District.
The Dublin City Water Services Strategic Plan summarises the current strategic plan in place
for water services in the Dublin Region. The plan was used in the Strategic Environmental
Assessment (SEA) carried out as part of the preparation of the Dublin City Development Plan
2011-2017.
The Dublin City Water Services Strategic Plan was prepared having regard to relevant major
studies undertaken, in particular the following:
Water Supply; the Greater Dublin Water Supply Strategic Study (GDWSSS 1996 and 2000
Review), including assessments carried out in the context of the Dublin Water Supply
Scheme – Long Term Source Planning (Water Supply Project- Dublin Region)( this project is
covered in detail in this briefing report), the Dublin Water Strategic Storage Study,
completed in 2006, and other technical studies, detailing the status and priority
requirements for water supply across the region.
Urban Drainage; the Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study (GDSDS) completed in 2005
which examined the foul and storm water drainage systems. This study outlined policies and
future requirements of the region for foul and storm water drainage for the medium to long
term up to 2031 and beyond. One of the key strategy recommendations of the study is the
extension of the Ringsend Waste Water Treatment Plant and the development of a regional
wastewater treatment plant in North County Dublin, along with the development of an
orbital sewer to transport wastewater to the regional plant. A Strategic Environmental
Assessment (SEA) on this Strategy was completed in 2008, with Fingal County Council as the
lead authority.
Flooding; the report of the Flood Policy Review Group of the Office of Public Works (OPW),
recommendations from the EU Funded Strategies and Actions for Flood Emergency and Risk
Management (SAFER) Project and the Dublin Coastal Flooding Protection Project (DCFPP)
completed in 2008, the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management Studies
(CFRAMS) being carried out for the Dodder and Fingal-East Meath area and the INTERREG
IVB Flood Resilien Cities (FRC) Project addressing the pluvial flooding challenge.
For your information pluvial flooding is flooding that arises from very high intensity rainfall.
Our Dutch colleagues refer to this as “monster rain” which aptly describes this. Dublin has
experienced this flooding in summer 2008 and 2009 and the Dublin Flood Resilient Cities
project will identify vulnerable locations and strategies to mitigate risk and adapt existing
-3and new developments. Pluvial rainfall generates overland flow and flooding, before the
runoff enters any watercourse or sewer.
The EU Water Framework Directive (2006/60/EC), which is transposed into Irish Law, is an
exceptionally important piece of environmental legislation and seeks to ensure that waters
in Ireland will be protected. Dublin City Council acts as lead Authority for the twelve Local
Authorities in the Eastern River Basin District (ERBD). The EU Water Framework Directive is
being implemented through the development of a River Basin Management Plan (RBMP)
and Programme of Measures (POM), the aims of which are to achieve “good status” in all
rivers, lakes, coastal and transitional waters, to be achieved by 2015 and in subsequent
plans up to 2027.
General Background
In this Section, a general background will be provided of the current status of:
A.
B.
C.
A.
Drinking water
Wastewater
Stormwater management.
Drinking Water
The water supply to Dublin City is primarily obtained from four treatment plants, namely
Ballymore Eustace (River Liffey), Roundwood (River Vartry), Ballyboden (River Dodder) and
Leixlip (River Liffey). All treatment plants, with the exception of Leixlip, are owned and
operated by Dublin City Council. The Leixlip plant is operated by Fingal County Council. The
total production from these plants, if added together, is of the order of 520 million litres per
day (520 Ml/d). The supply of water is dependant on a number of factors namely, sources,
reservoirs, production facilities, arterial watermains (i.e. large delivery pipes) and
distribution pipes (i.e. smaller delivery pipes). The seven local authorities in the Greater
Dublin Area operate together to provide for the drinking water requirements of the Greater
Dublin Area. Collectively, they serve a population of 1.6 million people, with an industrial
loading for drinking water purposes equivalent to a further 0.5 million population. The
Region has operated without any strategic reserve since 2003 which makes it very
challenging to maintain continuity of service. Contracts are at the construction stage to
improve this situation by 2013.
The Greater Dublin Water Supply Strategic Study Report, 1996-2016, commissioned by the
Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government in conjunction with the seven
Local Authorities in the Dublin Water Supply Region, was published in 1996. This report was
revised in part in the year 2000 to ensure compliance with the Strategic Planning Guidelines
and to take into account growth in the Dublin Region. This report outlines clearly a strategic
investment framework for 20 years from 1996 to address drinking water needs. Even at this
remove, the report is still a very valid document and an excellent source of background
-4material on the drinking water system in the Dublin Region. The primary conclusion of the
report was that a defined investment programme of , was required and that leakage was
unacceptably high at 42.5% due to a historic lack of investment in preceeding decades since
the foundation of this State.
This has been reduced to 29%, as a result of the Dublin Region Water Conservation
Project, about which more later.
One of the main reasons why leakage was unacceptably high was a lack of capital
investment in the preceding decades, when there were other demands on scarce capital
investment from the public purse. There continues to be significant lack of investment in
asset replacement although the Dublin Region Water main Rehabilitation Project
(DRWRP) described in this document is actively addressing this historic funding deficit.
In order to deliver on the Water Strategic Study, Dublin City Council is progressing five
strategic action lines in parallel and these are briefly summarised hereunder, namely,





Leakage Control
Rehabilitation of the network
Capital Investment
New Source Development
Demand Management
Leakage Control
As a result of the 1996 Strategic Study report, substantial capital investment was put into
the area of leakage control through a Regional project known as the Dublin Region Water
Conservation Project (DRWCP). This Project Project was led by Dublin City Council and was
designed to put in place a network of district meters linked to telemetry, which would
constantly track the distribution of water throughout the Dublin Region. Substantial
investment was put in place to train Council staff in the latest leak detection technology and
to repair significant numbers of pipelines. The leakage in the region was reduced from
42.5% to 29% and has now reached the level of diminishing returns due to the age of the
distribution network. The report confirmed that reduction in leakage below 28% would
require asset replacement of the old Victorian pipes. This programme is now underway.
Rehabilitation
The Dublin Region Water Conservation Project (DRWCP) ran from 1998 to 2002. Work on
the project involved introduction of Network Controls & Management and a major find & fix
operation in relation to leaks. It was recognised at the end of that project that to reduce the
UFW even further would involve watermains rehabilitation. On completion of that project
-5work commenced immediately on the Dublin Region Watermains Rehabilitation Project
(DRWRP).
The foundation laid during the Conservation Project, when over 17 kilometres of pilot
rehabilitation schemes were undertaken is now being carried on by huge investment in
rehabilitation/replacement of old defective pipe work. The Department of Environment,
Heritage and Local Government commenced the new phase of capital investment in 2007,
and this will see over €118 million being directed to the project. The information sourced
during the project has identified the priority areas where rehabilitation has to take place.
These are generally in the older areas of the City and of Dun Laoghaire and require very
careful management to ensure that disruption to the road network, which is inevitable, is
reduced to an absolute minimum.
Capital Investment
The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government’s Water Services
Investment Programme 2110-2012, identified a range of schemes at the planning, design or
construction stage. From Dublin City’s perspective, major investment is now taking place
in augmentation of new sources, covering of existing reservoirs, new treatment facilities and
a range of studies to advance schemes through the planning stage towards construction.
New Source Augmentation
The extension of treatment capacity at Ballymore Eustace Water Treatment Plant is
underway and is scheduled for completion in 2012/2013. Not withstanding this work and
the leakage education work already referred to a new major water source for the Dublin
Region is required and the Preliminary Report into the options for a new source was
completed in 2010. Following approval of the Preliminary Report by the Department of the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the next phase will be to take the proposals
through all the statutory planning processes.
Water Supply Project- Dublin Region - Project Background
The Water Supply Project Dublin Region is the working title of a strategic regional project
that has been identified as forming an essential element of the requirement to have a
reliable and sustainable water supply for the Greater Dublin Region into the foreseeable
future. This Project has been on the Department of the Environment, Community, and Local
Government’s three year Water Services Investment Programmes for the past number of
years and remains on the current Programme as a scheme to be advanced through the
Planning and Design stages.
Dublin City Council is identified in the Water Services Investment Programme as the Lead
Authority and is given the sole responsibility to progress the scheme.
-61. Progress and Consultation to date
Consultants were appointed by Dublin City Council in 2004 to produce a Preliminary Report
which would identify a number of options and make recommendations.
The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Regulations, 2004 required that any such
plans or programmes would have a Strategic Environmental Assessment carried out in
parallel with the development of the options.
As part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment process for this project a detailed
statutory public consultation process took place from November 2008 to February 2009.
Newspaper advertisements were placed at that time stating that copies of the then Draft
Plan, together with the Environmental Report and other documents, were being made
available at a number of centres , as well as on the Project website.
As part of that consultation, a series of presentations were made by the Dublin City Council
project team to the officials and members of the various Local Authorities, including those
contiguous to the River Shannon. These presentations included extensive Q&A session and
discussions with the members.
All inputs were taken into account during the period 2009 and 2010 when the draft Plan was
being reviewed. This process culminated in a preferred option being selected for the
project.
Over the July 2010 to January 2011 period, a series of briefings of Local Authority officials
took place in relation to the project and the recommendations contained in the final Plan.
Dublin City Council formally adopted the Plan in October 2010 and the publication of this
adoption is a requirement of the aforementioned Regulations – this is the background to
the recent press advertisements.
The advertisement placed in the national media on 2nd and 3rd of September 2011
represents the end of the above Preliminary stage of the overall project process.
The Plan
The Plan involves the abstraction of raw water from Lough Derg (River Shannon) and
pumping the abstracted water through a new pipeline to a proposed storage reservoir
covering approximately 1,400 acres (567 hectares) at the Garryhinch cut-away bog in
County Offaly (near Portarlington), forming part of a proposed midlands water based ecopark. The water will be treated to drinking water standards at this location and the treated
water transported in a series of pipelines to the Dublin Region Water Supply Area with
provision for local supplies to towns etc. along or close to the route of the pipeline.
-7The particular Plan, selected from eleven original options, takes account of the concerns
expressed by many stakeholders of the possible impact of continuous abstraction from the
Shannon. By including a major raw water reservoir at Garryhinch, the Plan provides for
flexibility as to the periods when water will be abstracted from the River Shannon and thus
ensure that the proposed abstraction will not impact negatively on the River system and will
crucially not affect the water levels in Lough Derg.
Dublin City Council recognises the cooperation of Bord na Mona in relation to identifying a
location for the proposed raw water reservoir. However, it is important to note that, in
accordance with the Government’s Water Services Investment Programme 2010 to 2012,
Dublin City Council remains the sole Lead Authority tasked with progressing this scheme in
its entirety.
Future of Project
It is important to note that the Planning process, which will include a full Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) and an application for an Abstraction Licence, has yet to
commence.
Dublin City Council anticipates that the project will be submitted to an Bord Pleanala for
their approval under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006.
In order to confirm that this is the correct approach, Dublin City Council has formally
requested a pre-planning consultation with the Board, in accordance with Section 37(b) of
the 2006 Act.
This will be followed by the Planning process proper, which will commence in the second
half of 2012.
This will involve further and more detailed consultations with all stakeholders and
interested parties prior to an application being made to an Bord Pleanala for approval.
These consultations will include all of those Local Authorities who are directly or indirectly
affected by the project.
The EIA process will also include for a very detailed scientific and technical assessment of
the abstraction proposals, including detailed monitoring and modelling of the Shannon River
system and an assessment of the impacts of the proposed abstraction on that system.
It is anticipated that the EIA process will take a minimum of two years, culminating in the
publication of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the submission of this, together
with an Abstraction Licence application and any other relevant statutory applications such
as Compulsory Purchase Orders, to an Bord Pleanala.
-8A further statutory consultation period will take place at the end of the EIA process,
following public advertisement of that submission to the Board.
Summary – Drinking Water and Water Supply Project – Dublin Region
Dublin City Council, in partnership with the Department of the Environment, Community
and Local Government and other Local Authorities in the Greater Dublin Region, will
continue to expand and develop the existing Regional Water Sources and Treatment Plant
to their ultimate capacities, to continue the present high level of investment in reduction of
water loss through the pipe network and to take all necessary measures to reduce water
consumption.
However, even taking all of these measures into account, the Dublin Region will not be
able to continue to maintain its position as a key driver of National Economic
Development without the development of a new water source, particularly given the long
lead in time before such a major project can be completed.
The City Council looks forward to working with all Local Authorities and all stakeholders in
progressing this important National and Regional Infrastructural project. While the benefits
of the Project will be far wider than just the Dublin Region, it is critical to the growth and
success of the entire country that the Capital City and the surrounding region can continue
to grow in a sustainable manner.
-9Wastewater
At present five strategic action lines are being pursued in parallel, to ensure the drainage
system for the City meets the needs of its customers. These strategic action lines can be
summarised as follows:





Provision of treatment capacity
Provision of new sewers
Rehabilitation of old sewers
Implementation of integrated policies
River Basin Catchment approach for integrated management of waters.
Provision of Treatment Capacity
The Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study assessed all the existing wastewater treatment
works in the Study area in relation to their ultimate design loads, receiving waters, existing
site constraints and planned expansion current at that time. The study identified that the
existing plant at Ringsend was at capacity and needed immediate expansion for short-term
needs to meet the requirements of the Urban Wastewater Regulations. Also the study
recommended that Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant should be maintained for the
existing catchments with a new Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant in North County
Dublin to cater for ongoing and future development in the Greater Dublin Region. Following
approval from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Dublin
City Council commenced the process to progress the extension of the Ringsend Wastewater
Treatment Plant to Contact Documents Stage, including EIS.
New Sewers
The sewer network in Dublin City is sub-divided into a number of discrete catchments. The
North Dublin Catchment was assessed in 1994 as a result of which a major new arterial
sewer network was constructed across the North Fringe between 2000 and 2005.
Two further major catchments require to be dealt with urgently. These are the City Centre
Catchment (including Docklands) and the Rathmines and Pembroke Catchment. Both of
these catchments contain the oldest sections of the sewer network in Dublin, largely based
on a combined sewer system (A combined sewer is a sewer which accepts sewage as well as
rain water runoff). Both catchments are considered to be major contributors to the
pollution load of the River Liffey and River Dodder systems and their tributaries. In order to
comply with the statutory requirements it is necessary to assess the current performance of
these catchments with a view to, ultimately, putting together detailed proposals to upgrade
that performance to ensure compliance. Both schemes are under active assessment by
Dublin City.
-10Rehabilitation
The main sewers feeding into the Dublin system from the adjacent counties are 9B and 9C,
which drain the Blanchardstown and Clondalkin areas. Studies carried out under the
Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study have indicated exceptionally high levels of
infiltration and direct surface water connection into these sewers. Studies of the Docklands
and the Rathmines/Pembroke Area are also highlighting this problem. These inflow and
infiltration problems result in increased flows requiring treatment at the Waste Water
Treatment Plants. This problem will be tackled as part of the implementation of the Capital
Improvement works for these catchments.
Drainage Policies
The Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study produced a raft of new regional drainage
policies under the heading of Sustainable Drainage Systems, which ensure the use of
sustainable drainage practices in the future. The list of policies include:





New Development
Environmental Management
Inflow/Infiltration & Exfiltration
Climate Change
Basements.
Catchment Based Approach
The implementation of the Water Framework Directive is being carried out on a catchment
basis and Dublin City Council is the lead authority for the Eastern River Basin District Project
(ERBD) which covers 12 Local Authorities along the East of the Country. The project is to put
in place a management infrastructure, which will ensure that the waters in the Eastern
Region have good quality status by 2015. This preparation of a new catchment based
management system will involve extensive public consultation and will require to address ,
in a challenging fashion, some of the problems between stakeholders which are resulting in
a deterioration of river water quality. The draft River Basin Management Plant for the ERBD
was issued in December 2008 for a 6 month period of public consultation. The submissions
on the draft Plan have been reviewed and incorporated into the Final River Basin
Management Plan. The plan sets out how the aims and objectives of improving and
protecting water quality and ecology in the waters of the ERBD could be achieved by means
of a Programme of Measures. The Plan was adopted in 2010 to meet the statutory deadlines
and implementation is now underway co-ordinated by Dublin City on behalf of the East
Region.
-11Stormwater
Flooding from a variety of sources has been a serious problem in Dublin over the last
number of years. Flooding has resulted from coastal flooding and also from river flooding.
With significant changes in climatic conditions and the possible advent of climate change
scenarios, new strategies need to be put in place to effectively manage the flooding risk. At
present, five strategic action lines are being undertaken by Dublin City Council to address
various stormwater and flooding issues and these can be summarised as follows:
Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Project
This Project was designed to identify the drainage infrastructure and policies necessary to
manage the development of Dublin City up to the year 2031. This Study reported in 2005.
It has also procured a range of river models to actively manage the risks of new
development. It forms the basis of a Regional Strategy for flood risk management as part of
the Dublin Flood Initiative.
Dublin Coastal Flood Protection Project
The Dublin Coastal Flood Protection Project (DCFPP) was undertaken by Dublin City Council
after coastal flooding occurred in early 2002. The study encompassed the coastal areas of
Fingal and Dublin City as far south as Merrion Gates. This Report was published in 2005. As a
result of the study findings, works have been undertaken and are in hand to enhance the
flood protection defences of vulnerable areas.
CFRAM Studies
The OPW have taken on a national role to deliver an integrated, multi-faceted programme
aimed at mitigating flood risk. They are co-ordinating the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment
& Management (CFRAM) Study Programme. The River Dodder CFRAMS is nearing
completion. The River Liffey CFRAMS has commenced.
Emergency Planning
Risk reduction strategies in relation to the threat of flooding involves not just the
construction of civil works but also a comprehensive programme of planning and
preparedness including spatial strategies and public awareness programmes. The linking of
civil works with emergency preparedness reduces the impact of flooding in the future as
well as ensuring an effective management of the response to flooding emergencies.
Medium term measures identified as part of Emergency Planning include completion of
integrated operational response plans throughout each authority involving all the statutory
-12and voluntary groups covering flood warning, notification, emergency response measures,
relief measures and recovery assistance.
An integral part of these plans is the updating and evaluation of information from flood
events as they occur. Flood Emergency Response Plans are identified as a subset of the new
Major Emergency Plans of each Local Authority which were launched on the 30th
September 2008. These plans are based on the Framework for Major Emergency
Management developed by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local
Government.
Asset Maintenance
Recent floods have resulted in the identification of a series of drainage blackspots
throughout the City. Much of the City is served by an old ‘combined drainage system’ and
this can exacerbate flooding problems. Addressing these will involve some civil works, such
as the preparation of Drainage Area Plans involving new drainage systems, but the old
model, whereby stormwater was conveyed as quickly as possible to a pipeline, which was
built as big as possible to convey the stormwater quickly to the sea, is no longer sufficiently
robust to deal with the type of climate change conditions which have prevailed in recent
years. Huge flash
Storms , where up to 1/40th of the annual rainfall can fall on limited catchments in less than
an hour, have been seen in recent years and no stormwater drainage system can
accommodate the quantities of rainwater which result from such exceptional storms.
A number of studies are at an advanced stage to look at these problems in detail and to
recommend containment strategies, which have to involve among other things, attenuation
of stormwater at source. Dublin City Council has been very pro-active in advancing the
Greater Dublin Regional Code of Practice for Drainage Works, with its Stormwater
Management Policy, which is being implemented in all new developments. The studies
result in production of digital models of the infrastructure which are used to simulate the
performance of the drainage infrastructure under different loadings, storm & tidal
conditions. Of necessity the studies are complex and they identify solutions, which are
costly. However, detailed studies are essential in order to identify effective solutions and to
ensure value for money.
Dublin Flood Initiative – Flooding Risks


Pluvial flooding; urban flooding caused by extreme high intensity storms in a local area,
typically in summer time, influenced by both the drainage system and receiving
river/stream infrastructure
-13Fluvial flooding; caused by longer duration extreme rainfall events giving rise to flood
conditions in rivers exceeding the capacity of channels and leading to inundation of
properties. Notable examples have been the River Dodder (1986) and the River Tolka
(2000, 2002)

Tidal flooding; caused by a combination of factors (high spring tides, low barometric
pressure and onshore south-easterly winds) resulting in extreme high tides for a period
of hours in the Dublin Region causing inundation of low-lying coastal areas (example,
Dublin City and Fingal County, 1st of February, 2002)

Inter-tidal flooding; where the combination of tide levels and flood flow levels in rivers
result in flood risk to low-lying properties in the vicinity of the river/tidal confluence.
Cost of water services
Water services are not free and are paid for by the community through a combination of
financial support mechanisms. Rainwater is not used for drinking water without first being
purified, at great expense, and delivered each day through a network of over 8,000 km of
pipes. Achieving a balance between paying for services and receiving the benefit of those
services requires prudent management.
The Water Pricing Policy is set by Central Government and Dublin City has contributed to
the development of new sustainable water pricing policies under review by the Minister for
Environment, Community and Local Government. The Dublin Region is among the lowest
cost regions for water supply in Ireland and compares directly with the UK which has a
comparable climate and plumbing systems.
Demand Management
The provision of water must not be seen simply as a supply demand equation. Dublin City
Council are also involved in a wide range of water conservation activities to ensure that
current water availability is utilised in the most efficient and economic manner possible. The
initiatives being pursued are in keeping with the provisions of the Water Framework
Directive and are in parallel to the development of any new water supply source. These
initiatives include Proactive Leakage Management, 100% metering and volumetric charging
of all non-domestic customers, bye-law implementation regarding new water efficient
appliances in new developments and public awareness campaigns e.g. Taptips
(www.taptips.ie) which was developed by Dublin City.
-14Conclusion
The Water Strategy for the Dublin Region involves parallel investment in water storage and
treatment, leakage reduction, network rehabilitation and new source development and
demand management. The Drainage strategy likewise involves provision of treatment
capacity, rehabilitation of ancient sewers and integrated River Basin Planning. The Flood risk
reduction strategy under the umbrella of the Dublin Flood Initiative provides a
comprehensive and integrated strategy building on the best international practice and
developing world class local solutions.
Since 1996 this Regional water strategy is being implemented to address decades of
underinvestment. The water supply situation in the Dublin Region is very complex and is not
amenable to quick fix or single approach solutions.
Current abstractions from the Liffey and Vartry rivers, which supply over 95% of Dublin’s
raw water, are close to their sustainable limits and cannot meet future needs. Indeed,
climate change projections suggest that future rainfall in the region could reduce
significantly with consequences for existing reservoirs.
As regards leakage levels the Dublin Region Water Conservation project reduced leakage
from 42.5% to 28% and confirmed that reductions below this would require replacement of
significant portions of our ancient Victorian network., Britain has a very similar water
distribution network to ours and it has taken high levels of sustained investment for over 25
years to approach leakage levels of 20% there. In addition, Ireland generally (incl the Dublin
Region) has significant leakage on the customer side of the property boundary which will
take many years to bring under control to best practice standards. The recent pilot in the
Merrion area has shown major leaks on customer pipes which require attention. In a recent
study it was found that leaks on private property in 3 houses equated to the entire
consumption of 160 houses. This figure of 6% of houses having exceptional leakage on
private supplies has also been found in other locations in Dublin.
Investment in replacing these mains has commenced through the Dublin Region Water
main Rehabilitation Project. Over 100 Km. of mains have already been replaced and an
additional 160 Km. will be replaced over the next 2 years. The plans and teams are in place
and the Local Authorities have the ability to accelerate this replacement programme
depending on funding. I greatly welcome the support of the Minister for Environment,
Community and Local Government in committing finance to this project.
In planning for the long-term (2020-2050) future water supply needs of the Dublin & Mid
East Regions, the scheme (at the planning stage) for usage of Shannon Water, via
intermediate raw water cutaway bog storage at a new midlands Water based Eco park, is
only one element in an overall approach which envisages significant additional investments
-15to reduce leakage to best practice levels of 20% (a massive challenge) by 2020, combined
with the implementation of full domestic metering and charging to reduce personal
consumption and domestic household leakage. Only by combining all of these measures can
we hope to have a ‘first world’ water supply in the future.
Long term water supply planning is based on population projections combined with a
resumption in economic growth which can be greatly enhanced by ensuring secure
sustainable provision of treated water supplies for industry and foreign direct investment
wishing to locate in the Ireland to create jobs.
In planning for the future, it is vital that we continue investment in replacing old assets and
recognise the value of a continuous water supply.
For Dublin as an International City Region and the Midlands to have good capacity of quality
water available would make Ireland one of the most attractive locations anywhere in the
world for important industries and support job creation. Dublin, as part of the creative
Dublin Alliance, is working to grow Dublin as an International Global centre for smart
technology solutions. Work has already commenced on adapting and developing smart
water solutions. The Water Supply Project is a project that benefits not just Dublin but the
national economy and is a project of national importance.
I hope that this overview briefing has been useful and we are happy to answer questions or
elaborate on any point of the briefing for the Cathaoirleach and members of the Oireachtas
Joint Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and Gaeltacht in it’s deliberations.
END