Irish Water
Proposed Capital
Investment Plan
Interim Price Control Submission 2014-2016
Document No: IW-IPC-002
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
1
2
3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................5
1.1
BACKGROUND .............................................................................................................................................................6
1.2
THE PROGR AMME S
1.3
SUMMAR Y ................................................................................................................................................................ 13
AND IMPLE MEN TATION ................................................................................................................8
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................... 14
2.1
EXECU TIVE SUMMAR Y CONTEXT FOR INVES TMENT 2014-2016 ............................................................................ 14
2.2
CURRENT OVERVIEW – W ATER SUPPL Y................................................................................................................. 15
2.3
CURRENT OVERVIEW - W AS TE W ATER ................................................................................................................... 17
2.4
PREVIOUS CAPI TAL INVES TMEN T PROGR AMME ...................................................................................................... 18
2.5
FIN ANCI AL LI ABILITIES OF COMPLETED
AND
OTHER PROJECTS ............................................................................ 21
THE KEY INVESTMENT CHALLENGES................................................................................................................. 23
3.1
EXECU TIVE SUMMAR Y – INVES TMENT CH ALLENGES FOR 2014-2016................................................................... 23
3.2
ASSE T M AN AGE MEN T FUNCTION ALITY & IMPLE MEN TATION .................................................................................. 23
3.3
ASSE T INVEN TOR Y AND PERFORMANCE ................................................................................................................. 26
3.3.1
Critical Assets ............................................................................................................................................ 27
3.3.2
Capital Maintenance Programme .......................................................................................................... 27
3.3.3
Estimation of Capital maintenance Expenditure Requirement..................................................... 28
3.3.4
Asset Data Capture Systems.................................................................................................................. 29
3.4
INVESTMEN T AS SESS MEN T CRITERI A...................................................................................................................... 29
3.5
HE AL TH & SAFE TY .................................................................................................................................................. 30
3.6
DRINKING W ATER QU ALITY & RISK ........................................................................................................................ 30
3.7
DRINKING W ATER AV AIL ABILITY ............................................................................................................................. 31
3.8
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE, URBAN W ASTEWATER TREATMENT REGULATIONS & THE W ATER FRAMEWORK
DIRECTIVE ............................................................................................................................................................................. 31
4
5
3.9
CUSTOMER SERVICEABILITY STAND ARDS .............................................................................................................. 33
3.10
CLIMATE CH ANGE .................................................................................................................................................... 33
3.11
LONG TERM PL ANNING & STRATE GIC OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................... 34
CAPITAL INVESTMENT P ROGRAMME TRANSITION ........................................................................................ 35
4.1
EXECU TIVE SUMMAR Y - KE Y ELE MEN TS OF TR ANSITION PL ANNING ..................................................................... 35
4.2
T ARGE T OPER ATING MODEL
AND
ASS ET M AN AG EMENT STRUCTURES ................................................................ 35
4.2.1
Asset Information Management ............................................................................................................ 35
4.2.2
Investment Approval and Governance ................................................................................................ 36
4.2.3
Programme Management ........................................................................................................................ 40
CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN 2014-2016 ............................................................................................................. 41
2 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
5.1
EXECU TIVE SUMMAR Y – INVES TMENT PL AN DE VELOP MEN T .................................................................................. 41
5.2
DEVELO PMENT OF THE CAPITAL INVES TMENT PL AN .............................................................................................. 41
5.2.1
Investment Drivers and Priorities ......................................................................................................... 42
5.2.2
Prioritisation of Investment Drivers ..................................................................................................... 43
5.2.3
Growth Projections / Factors ................................................................................................................. 44
5.2.4
Assumptions and Constraints ............................................................................................................... 45
5.2.5
Funding Availability and Prioritisation ................................................................................................ 46
5.3
W ATER TRE ATMEN T (ABOVE GROUND ASSE TS).................................................................................................... 46
5.3.1
Water Capacity ........................................................................................................................................... 48
5.3.2
Prioritisation ............................................................................................................................................... 48
5.3.3
Proposals and Levels of Expenditure .................................................................................................. 49
5.4
W ATER NE TWORKS (BELOW GROUND ASSE TS) .................................................................................................... 49
5.4.1
Progress to date ........................................................................................................................................ 51
5.4.2
Prioritisation ............................................................................................................................................... 52
5.4.3
Proposals and Levels of Expenditure .................................................................................................. 53
5.5
W AS TE W ATER TRE ATMENT (ABOVE GROUND ASSE TS)....................................................................................... 54
5.5.1
Key Issues ................................................................................................................................................... 54
5.6
RIVER BASIN MAN AGE MEN T PL ANS
5.7
URB AN W ASTE W ATER TRE ATMEN T DIRECTIVE .................................................................................................... 56
5.8
W ATER FR AMEWORK DIRECTIVE ............................................................................................................................ 58
5.9
LICENSING AND ENFORCEMEN T OF W AS TE W ATER DISCH ARGES ......................................................................... 59
AND
URB AN W ASTE W ATER TRE ATMEN T LICENSING .................................. 55
5.9.1
Progress to date ........................................................................................................................................ 61
5.9.2
Prioritisation ............................................................................................................................................... 61
5.9.3
Proposals and Levels of Expenditure .................................................................................................. 62
5.10
W AS TE W ATER NE TWORKS (BELOW GROUND ASSE TS) ....................................................................................... 62
5.10.1
Key Issues ................................................................................................................................................... 62
5.10.2
Progress to Date ........................................................................................................................................ 64
5.10.3
Future Priorities ......................................................................................................................................... 65
5.11
MINOR CAPITAL PROJEC TS PROGR AMME .............................................................................................................. 65
5.11.1
5.12
Minor Capital Projects & Works ............................................................................................................ 65
DRINKING W ATER PROGR AMME ............................................................................................................................. 69
5.12.1
Process Optimisation and Control Programme ................................................................................ 69
5.12.2
Filter and Coagulation Programme ...................................................................................................... 70
5.12.3
Disinfection Programme.......................................................................................................................... 70
5.12.4
Unidirectional Scour facilitation Programme .................................................................................... 70
5.12.5
Plant Refurbishment Programme.......................................................................................................... 71
5.12.6
Source Protection Measures .................................................................................................................. 71
5.12.7
Pressure Management Programme ...................................................................................................... 71
5.12.8
District Metering Area Programme ....................................................................................................... 71
5.12.9
Small Mains Rehabilitation ..................................................................................................................... 71
5.12.10
Waste Water Minor Capital Programme .......................................................................................... 72
5.12.11
Flow monitoring and Sampling Programme .................................................................................. 72
3 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
5.12.12
Process Optimisation Programme ................................................................................................... 72
5.12.13
Inlet works Programme ....................................................................................................................... 73
5.12.14
Quick Win Programme......................................................................................................................... 73
5.12.15
Small Plant Improvement Programme ............................................................................................ 73
5.12.16
ECJ Projects ........................................................................................................................................... 74
5.12.17
Nutrient Management Programme ................................................................................................... 74
5.12.18
Network Survey Programme .............................................................................................................. 74
5.12.19
Network Flow monitoring and Rehabilitation Programme ........................................................ 74
5.12.20
Pump Station Upgrades ...................................................................................................................... 74
5.12.21
Energy Efficiency Programme........................................................................................................... 75
5.12.22
Sludge Programme ............................................................................................................................... 75
5.12.23
Critical Asset Programme................................................................................................................... 75
5.13
PROGR AMME KE Y S TUDIES..................................................................................................................................... 76
5.14
DEVELO PER DRIVEN REINFORCEMENT ................................................................................................................... 78
5.15
HE AL TH & SAFE TY .................................................................................................................................................. 79
5.16
SCADA & TELEME TR Y........................................................................................................................................... 79
5.17
NON -CONTR AC T COST FOR PROJECTS UNDER STATUS C .................................................................................... 80
6
TOTAL CAPITAL FUNDING REQUIREMENT ........................................................................................................ 81
7
GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................................................... 83
APPENDICES......................................................................................................................................................................... 92
Document Control – Version 01 - dated 27/02/2014
– Version 02 - dated 03/04/2014
4 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
1
EXECUT IVE SUM M ARY
The Irish Water (IW) Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016 (the CIP) is required under Section 34 of the Water
Services (No. 2) Act 2013 (the ‘Act’) to “set out and particularise the investment in water services
infrastructure that Irish Water considers necessary for the effective performance by it of its functions”. This,
in combination with the water charges plan (termed the Price Control Submission) is for the purpose of
allowing the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (the Minister) and the
Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) to determine financing, pursuant to Sections 36 and 22 of the Act
respectively. It encompasses the transitional phase from the transfer of services from the Local Authorities
(LAs) to IW, and contains projects that are at contract stage at present having completed any required
statutory planning process, and those that are significantly far along in the planning process.
The CIP for the 2014-2016 period (the ‘Period’) is a 3 year CAPEX funding plan. It outlines how IW
proposes to fund these contracts to completion and progress projects that are at the planning and design
stage, by examining their scope, budgets and timing, maximise existing assets and the capital available.
The CIP consists of a number of targeted programmes made up of over 386 individual projects and a range
of sub-programmes, which aim to deliver improvements to a range of water and wastewater services
including the quality of drinking water, reduced leakages, waste water compliance, business efficiencies and
customer service. The CIP does not establish or set out policy.
In addition to the CIP, IW is commencing work on a 25 Year Water Services Strategic Plan (WSSP) which
will set out long term strategy and objectives for the organisation. The WSSP will address the requirements
of Section 33 of the Act, and will be subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate
Assessment (AA) (Habitats Directive). The CIP will be adjusted as required to meet the objectives and
priorities of the WSSP, as adopted following assessment, on this occasion – in the future the WSSP will be
in place and will form the background to future Investment Plans , as envisaged by Section 34 of the Act.
In addition to the WSSP, section 34(5) of the Act requires IW, in making its investment plan, to take account
of river basin management plans, local area plans, development plans, regional planning guidelines and
any strategic development zones. Due to the time limitations within which the CIP has had to be produced,
IW has relied for this initial CIP on the fact that the vast majority of the projects included for funding were
included in the WSIP 2010-2012 (as reviewed and extended). The inclusion of those projects in that WSIP
arose from a process which ensured that the documents referred to in section 34 (5) were "had regard to"
by the LAs and by the DECLG as part of the "Assessment of Needs" submissions, as is detailed in the
Foreword and Part 1 of the WSIP. In addition, IW asked each of the 34 LAs to submit business cases for
priority projects (not all of which were within the WSIP) and conducted direct discussions with each of the
LAs during the last quarter of 2013 on same.
Section 34(6) of the Act requires IW, before preparing its investment plan, to consult with the EPA, and
each regional body and planning authority in respect of whose functional area the investment plan is likely
to apply. Again, due to the particular time constraints applying to the preparation of this initial CIP, that
5 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
consultation has had to be conducted in a foreshortened manner. All the relevant bodies were contacted via
email sent on 13th February 2014 inviting comments by 5pm on Monday 24th February 2014.
Whilst much of the content of the submissions had been anticipated in the CIP, and it has been possible to
address some further issues by way of amendment of the CIP prior to its submission to the Minister and the
CER, there are other issues still being considered and these will be addressed in revisions to the CIP,
necessitated post the financial decisions of the Minister and the CER under the Act, and the finalisation of
the WSSP. The EPA has reserved its right to make further submissions direct to the CER. In its preliminary
comments, the EPA has noted that the CIP, as drafted, does not appear to provide for compliance with all of
the statutory requirements identified by the EPA. This is a matter for further discussions between IW and
EPA.
This CIP has had to be prepared in the absence of the WSSP and with very limited time to consider
submissions due to the provisions of Section 34(I)(a) of the Act. It is required so as to provide the CER with
an understanding of the capex investment that IW considers necessary for the effective performance by it of
its statutory functions, and to allow the Minister to determine the grant pursuant to Section 36.
The CIP outlines a requirement for €1,771m Capex to meet the objectives identified by previous DECLG
programmes as well as those of IW. Funding for the Period is currently constrained to €930m together with
un-quantified development levies. In the absence of additional funds, many of the projects outlined in this
CIP will have to be deferred beyond the Period, and prioritised based on risk to critical services. Deferring
such spend may affect water services customer welfare. The CIP and Price Control Submission will allow
the Minister and the CER to decide on issues of funding and finance, and those decisions will in turn
determine IW's ability to progress the projects and programmes detailed in this CIP .
1. 1
B A CK GROUND
It is considered useful for the CER to be given a detailed background in this initial price control period, so as
to assist its understanding of the CIP. Much of the CIP is therefore devoted to providing this information.
For decades, the LAs have provided water and waste water services within the resources and limitations
available to them. In January 2014, IW took over responsibility for the provision of most public water
services from the 34 LAs. Further to section 31 of the Act, IW has entered into Service Level Agreements
(SLAs) with the LAs for the operation of IW’s assets for the next 12 years, so as to maintain continuity of
service.
IW is now responsible for the supply of drinking water to over 80% of the population via approx. 1000
separate public water supplies, and the collection and treatment of wastewater across approx. 1000
separate agglomerations. IW has also taken over a large portfolio of assets, including several thousand
smaller installations and thousands of kilometres water and waste water pipelines. Due to the fragmented
nature of water services across the 34 LAs to date, the level and quality of asset records varies widely. IW
6 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
does not have comprehensive or detailed knowledge of the asset base at this time, but will begin the
process of capturing information on critical national infrastructure with immediate effect.
The CIP represents the transition between the capital programmes previously overseen and largely funded
by the DECLG, and the full price control investment plans to be regulated by the CER. The CIP is
dominated by the existing contract commitments of LAs, which have now transitioned to IW. IW will seek to
fund these contracts to completion during 2014-2016, within the funding envelope available, and subject to
compliance with statutory consents and processes . IW aims to begin additional prioritised projects at the
same time. IW will also develop a large portfolio of projects from the planning and design stage, reviewing
their scope, budgets and timing to favour intensified capital maintenance and maximise the performance of
existing assets. This activity will include proposals for additional capacity for both water and wastewater
services to meet the long term needs of the Greater Dublin Area (GDA). Throughout the duration of the CIP,
IW will continuously review the CIP, adjusting priorities to take into account emerging information, needs to
optimise the investments being made, and the WSSP once assessed and finalised.
The current state of IW’s water and waste water asset base varies greatly, ranging from very good newer
schemes to very poor smaller schemes vulnerable to microbiological contamination and subject to ‘Boil
Water Notices’. Leakage from the water networks averages over 41% across the country, twice the level of
those in the UK, where the assets are comparable but have been managed intensively over the last 20
years. Leakage is four times that of typical figures in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, where
networks tend to be much newer. These figures indicate that significant investment is required to reach
international standards in the water utility sector.
While major investment has been made in waste water treatment over the past decade, further progress
and investment is required to achieve full compliance with the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive
(UWWTD). An EU Infringement Case against Ireland requires improvements at 66 agglomerations.
Separately, Programmes of Measures required under the Water Framework Directive (WFD) could cost IW
in the region of €3-4bn, with emerging requirements under the Priority Substances Directive having a further
cost implication of €2-€3bn. IW will seek to address these compliance requirements in the most cost
effective manner possible.
The transfer of the DECLG Water Services Investment Programme (WSIP) 2010-2012 to IW includes
projects that are under construction, projects completed but not commercially closed-out and a significant
number of projects tendered in 2013, which were approved to proceed to contract. These ‘in-flight’ projects
have, to a significant degree, defined the budget commitment in 2014-2016. The estimated value of the ‘inflight’ projects exceeds the €930m capital funds available to IW to deliver them. One of the key roles for IW
will be to manage the project portfolio to deliver the optimum investment outcomes within its funding
constraints. Below is a summary of the required spend across the 2014-2016 period within each of the
proposed spend areas.
7 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Suppressed Capital Customer Side
Capital Project Office Staff,
Maintenance, Leakage, €51,000,000
€60,000,000
€100,000,000
Telemetry,
€7,900,000
Health & Safety ,
€6,000,000
Key Studies (for
Gate 1 WIAC Legacy Final
process),
Accounts,
€8,064,640
€95,000,000
Metering
Surveys,
€2,000,000
Major Capital - Main Driver
Drinking Water Quality,
€193,506,625
Major Capital - Water
Conservation, €151,997,184
Developer Driven
Reinforcement, €33,000,000
Minor Capital Projects,
€105,000,000
Major Capital - Main Driver
Drinking Water Availability,
€136,845,135
Minor Capital Works
(Reactive), €75,000,000
Major Capital - Main Driver
Waste Water Availability,
€379,896,879
Major Capital - Main Driver
Waste Water Compliance,
€366,206,779
Figure 1: 2014-2016 Capital Investment Plan Summary
1. 2
THE P ROGRA MME S A ND IMP LE ME NTA TION
In order to address historic deficiencies and to transition Ireland’s water infrastructure to a high performance
utility model, this CIP will focus on the following key areas:
Asset Management
IW has been established as an asset management driven business, in line with international best practice in
the water utility sector. This represents a radical transformation to the water services planning and delivery
model in Ireland. IW will prioritise investments from a whole-life (value for money) cost perspective in
contrast to the previous model which tended to run to failure, with minimal maintenance and over-reliance
on major one-off exchequer investment.
IW will prioritise major compliance issues using the best combination of capital and operational responses,
recognising that major plant upgrades are generally required where a change in standards is needed. In the
first instance, IW will seek to maximise the capacity of existing assets, and upgrade operations, with the
support of targeted capital maintenance. However, it must be recognised that a significant percentage of the
existing water supply zones and waste water treatment plants are exceeding their current design capacity.
IW will review options to upgrade existing assets as the next step, reviewing all technical opportunities as
8 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
part of the process. Where these measures are not sufficient to meet the long term needs IW will develop
plans for new capacity to be delivered in a timely fashion. In 2014, IW will commence the rollout of asset
management processes and systems and build a reliable asset database on which to develop the next
Investment Plan for the 2017–2021 price control investment decisions.
Drinking Water Quality
Strong progress has been made in recent years where investment has focussed on non-compliant water
supplies on the EPA Remedial Action List (RAL), but significant risks to drinking water quality remain at a
number of Water Supply Zones (WSZ). Microbiological non-compliance represents an immediate risk to
public health and is one of IW’s highest priority investment drivers.
The CIP seeks funding to give effect to IW's commitment to strive to achieve drinking water compliance
through both large scale capital upgrades and minor capital programmes that will eliminate many of the
non-compliant legacies. In tandem with water quality programmes, IW will aggressively target leakage
management in areas where a reduction in leakage levels can delay the need to invest in new treatment
infrastructure, or reduce the stress on treatment. This will reduce costs on the system and the water
services customer. The figure below illustrates the number and status of projects in the drinking water
quality programme.
33
A. Continue in
Construction
52
B. Review Scope and
Commence Construction
C. Continue Planning and
Business Case Review
68
Figure 2: Water Supply Projects 2014-2016
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Water Conservation
High leakage levels are placing a strain on water resources; reducing the availability of drinking water to
water service customers, increasing operating costs, impacting plant performance and water quality. Water
conservation and leakage levels vary across the country, with some LAs lacking the basic infrastructure and
resources to manage the problem. IW will establish systems and infrastructure to accurately assess leakage
levels across all WSZs by introducing an asset management approach. This will balance funding between
active leakage control, speed and quality of repairs, pressure management and investment in water main
rehabilitation.
Customer side leakage is another significant component of Unaccounted for Water (UFW). The domestic
Water Metering Programme has already started to quantify the scale of customer side leakage and IW is
working on a strategy to address this issue. This involves a “first fix” policy offering customers post meter
installation repairs for leaks in the first instance. This policy will be subject to terms and conditions yet to be
agreed and subject to approval for additional funding. A figure of €51 million, over the Period, has been
included in this proposed CIP for customer service repairs. This is on the basis that it will be funded by
special grant of the Exchequer. However, it should be noted that it forms a critical component of IW's Water
Saving Strategy, with an estimated 5-6% of properties experiencing significant leaks based on data from the
domestic Metering Programme to date. IW estimates that €15-20m per annum is required for this
programme, amounting to at least €50m for the Period.
4
Leakage
Management
Infrastructure
Mains Rehabilitation
Projects
36
Figure 3: Water Conservation Projects (2014-2016 )
Drinking Water Capacity
Previous WSIPs indicate that the delivery of additional drinking water capacity and supply resilience through
new infrastructure can take up to 15 years. As a consequence, and despite significant investment in recent
years, over 25% of WSZs are currently operating beyond their design limits. IW has a key role in meeting
current demand, and forecasting and planning to meet future demand to support national development and
growth. IW will define water supply needs for a 25 year period, as per requirements of the WSSP, with the
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
flexibility to cater for demand growth, demand peaks and source risks, whilst meeting the social and
economic needs of balanced regional development. In the short term IW will seek to deliver a number of key
water supply capacity projects.
Waste Water Environmental Compliance
IW will develop its environmental capability and engage collaboratively with the EPA, DECLG and EU to
achieve cost-effective and sustainable environmental improvements in compliance with statutory
obligations. A study into European Court of Justice (ECJ) compliance and a longer term approach to such
compliance has already commenced. Increasingly stringent standards for larger schemes and for Combined
Sewer Overflows (CSOs) are being reviewed with a longer timeframe so that the most appropriate and
affordable solutions are developed. IW considers that such an approach will save money for the water
services customers. In the short-term, the CIP seeks funding for urgent schemes required to meet existing
discharge license conditions and where pollution impacts are most evident.
53
54
A. Continue in Construction
B. Review Scope and Commence
Construction
C. Continue Planning and
Business Case Review
126
Figure 4: Waste Water Environmental Compliance Projects 2014-2016.
Large population growth over the last two decades has resulted in significant investment in new wastewater
network infrastructure connecting new developments into existing networks. This investment has also
assisted with the upgrading and replacement of the existing networks to accommodate additional flows and
providing new assets to transfer flows to new/upgraded Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs).
Although investment has been made in the below ground assets, a considerable investment is still required
to replace infrastructure that is at the end of its service life (especially in the larger cities), to cater for future
development needs and to eliminate flooding of properties as a result of sewer surcharging. Storm Water
and Emergency Overflows also need to be assessed to ensure that they are compliant with the relevant
standards so that WFD ‘good’ quality status can be achieved. Investment is required to survey and monitor
11 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
current performance, while gathering information on wastewater networks as a first step and then to
implement appropriate solutions on a prioritised basis.
Customer Serviceability Standards
The ability to deliver high quality customer services will be a key focus for IW. The introduction of
nationwide domestic charges for water services should guarantee acceptable standards and commitments
in return. The CIP seeks funding for a range of long and short term programmes that will address some of
the existing supply issues experienced by households, such as low supply pressure and localised drinking
water quality issues.
Targeted Investment
IW will seek to improve business efficiencies across the original 34 LA model. Efficiencies include the
introduction of a procurement framework for large expenditure categories such as energy, materials and
construction contracts. Coordination in the areas of finance, workflow and project management systems will
also help streamline processes and provide IW with the key information required to manage its business
and deliver higher performance results.
In addition to these actions, IW has launched a Minor Capital Programme which consists of programmes
aimed at maximising the performance of existing assets with targeted low level investment. These
programmes will address known asset deficiencies to deliver improvements in health and safety,
quality/compliance, operations costs and sustainability. The Minor Capital Programme will drive
standardisation and best practice, delivering significant business efficiencies and cost reductions. It will also
address the asset information deficits required to develop future investment plans. Examples from the Minor
Capital Programme include:
a)
Energy Efficiency - IW’s operations use over circa €50m of electrical energy annually (excluding
DBO contracts). The Minor Capital Energy Efficiency Programme will target reductions at significant energy
consuming sites, in line with the principles of the ISO 50001 energy management standard. In conjunction
with other programmes that will optimise energy tariffs, it is anticipated that this programme wi ll deliver
savings ranging from 10% to 40% on a project by project basis.
b)
Critical Assets - The potential failure of critical assets could have a significant impact on services,
public health or the environment. Lack of capital investment in the past has led to the dilapidation of many
critical water service assets, to the point that they are now at risk of imminent failure. Due to the scale of the
asset portfolio, it is not feasible to carry out a condition and performance evaluation of all critical assets in
the short term. In order to both mitigate risk and develop risk management based investment programmes,
the minor capital critical asset programme will identify critical assets, assess the level of risk, establish
indicative cost of replacement, operational cost impacts and solution options and develop preliminary
investment projections to manage the risk.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
1. 3
S UMMA RY
The proposed CIP 2014-2016 outlines funding required for the programmes and projects that IW aims to
deliver over the next three years to improve water and wastewater services across the country, including
the quality of drinking water, reduced leakages, waste water compliance, business efficiencies and
customer service. The CIP seeks funding for a large number of projects with existing contractual
commitments made by LAs and the DECLG under the Water Services Investment Programme 2010-2012.
IW will seek to complete and close out these projects in the coming years.
The proposed CIP also seeks funding for measures and planned projects that are subject to approval
pending compliance with specific legal obligations.
To deliver on these objectives, IW will require funding totalling €1,771m for this proposed CIP, which is
significantly more than the €930m available to IW at present. Without the required funding, many of these
projects, measures and customer benefits will be deferred. An additional sum of approximately €51m is
targeted for repairing customer side leaks as a part of the ‘first fix’ policy, to achieve significant water
savings in the three year period. The proposed CIP forms the basis on which funding can be considered
both by the CER and by the Minister.
13 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
2
INT RODUCT ION
On January 1st, 2014, IW took over the operations and capital investment programmes for water services
from the 34 LAs, who formerly acted as water service authorities in Ireland. Traditionally water services,
including water supply and waste water collection and treatment, have been provided by 34 separate county
and city councils. Each LA was responsible for provision of water services within its own functional area with
a limited amount of cross-county boundary service provision. There were however notable exceptions to the
model, including the Greater Dublin Region which has an integrated water supply and drainage system for
the region, though the services are separately operated with a degree of co-operation.
The purpose of the proposed CIP is to detail the funding required by IW to deliver on its proposed projects
and measures during the period January 1st 2014 to December 31st 2016.
2. 1
E XE CUTIV E S UMMA RY CO NTE XT FOR INV E S TME NT 2014-2016
IW has inherited a range of water supply and wastewater assets across over 2,000 public schemes, in
varying condition and with service levels ranging from good to poor. Key challenges facing IW include:

The water supply infrastructure has been developed over 150 years, with limited restorations. While
new schemes have been added to the system to meet the rapid economic growth, the lack of
planned and reactive maintenance resulted in risks to service for most schemes.

National leakage levels in the system average over 40% in distribution, and over 30% in the
Greater Dublin Area (GDA), where supplies are critical. Customer side leaks are estimated at a
further 5-6%.

Water quality is generally good, but can be poor locally due to inadequate barrier protection from
microbiological breakthroughs to treated water. Approximately 20,000 people are subject to ‘Boil
Water Notices’ and with an estimated 50,000 at risk. In addition, many larger supplies are not
sufficiently robust to ensure effective treatment throughout the year.

Wastewater compliance with Discharge Licence Standards falls short in the majority of plants for a
variety of reasons. Compliance with environmental standards under EU Directives is complex and
catchment specific, with the cost of full compliance potentially running to €5-6bn over the next
decade or more.

An ECJ Infringement Case is pending against Ireland in respect of a large number of treatment
plants. The available resources for investment in wastewater treatment cannot meet all of the
requirements of the ECJ notice, requiring engagement on how to achieve an agreed approach in
the short-medium term.

Limited details on physical attributes, condition and capacity, widespread infiltration and storm
water inflows result in overflows and flooding risks. IW will be required to take urgent action to
establish the operating parameters of these networks and to prioritise the works required to protect
properties and the environment.
14 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016

There is strong evidence that economic growth has resumed, particularly in the GDA. This growth
will require an integrated strategy of both water supply and wastewater treatment, to meet short,
medium and long term needs.

IW must make provision in its investment strategy to resolve health and safety deficiencies, avail of
opportunities to reduce energy; the use of chemicals and sludge production and to facilitate more
effective control through automation and other systems.
IW has inherited a substantial portfolio of ‘in-flight’ projects which need to be funded to completion, including
a large number of projects committed to contract for urgent needs.
IW will also inherit the financial liabilities on historic contracts completed, but not commercially closed.
Delivery of the Programme
While the proposed CIP represents an ambitious ramping up of capital investment over the three years of
the plan, we are confident that this can be achieved both in terms of project readiness and supply chain
capacity. Project status has been assessed for all projects in the proposed CIP and this confirms
construction readiness of the projects making up the overall programme. In terms of supply chain capacity,
the overall output of the construction industry in Ireland peaked at about €38bn in 2007 but is now down to
a level in the order of €7bn. Contractors and consulting engineers have demonstrated the ability to deliver
output way above current levels and most of the main firms in the water sector are still active in the market.
Local firms will also be supplemented by international firms if the demand is there, as has occurred in the
past. The key to ensuring that there will be adequate supply chain capacity to deliver the required capital
investment for Irish Water in 2014-2016 is to provide the market with adequate notice of the level of
investment that will be made.
2. 2
CURRE NT OV E RV IE W – W A TE R S UP P LY
Public water supplies cover over 80% of the population of Ireland via approx. 1000 separate WSZs. These
Public Water Supplies (PWSs) generally cover population centres with some coverage of rural areas, via
regional schemes. They may also provide supplies to private Group Water Schemes (GWS).
The LAs own and operate a large portfolio of assets which are used to abstract and treat water and deliver
treated water to customers. These will transfer to IW during 2014, in accordance with the Water Services
(No. 2) Act, 2013 ("the Act").These assets include:

Raw water intake facilities and borehole sites;

Raw water pipelines;

Water treatment plants;

Pumping stations;

Chlorine boosting stations;

Service reservoirs;

Distribution networks of thousands of kilometres in length; and
15 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016

Metering, SCADA and Telemetry systems.
The Drinking Water Regulations 2007, 1 require that drinking water supplied complies with 48 different
quality perimeters at the point of supply (i.e. at the consumer’s main tap). These quality parameters include
microbiological, chemical and indicator parameters and the regulations set out parametric values which
must be complied with.
In addition to meeting quality standards, Water Services Authorities are obliged to maintain pressures within
the network such that the pressure at each consumer’s connection is within an acceptable pressure range.
There are no statutory requirements for supply pressure, however, Water Services Authorities aim to
maintain a minimum supply pressure of 15m water gauge and to stay below a maximum pressure of 40m.
The latter is not always practical and high pressures, especially at night, contribute to high leakage levels.
Lack of consistency in asset operations can further compromise the actual service level achieved and has
been an inevitable effect of having 34 separately managed operational units. The overall condition of the
distribution network is poor by international standards with an average Unaccounted for Water (UFW) rate
of 41% being reported by LAs.2 This compares with typical UFW levels of 5-10% in the best quality
networks in Europe in countries like Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. UFW levels in the UK
typically range from 20-25% in networks, with a similar profile of materials age and water type to Ireland.
While there is a significant capital investment deficit in the water distribution network, it should be noted that
considerable work has been carried out in the past decade rationalising distribution networks into District
Metered Areas (DMAs) and undertaking active leakage control as a precursor to water mains rehabilitation.
Since 2000, DECLG funding helped establish the DMA infrastructure, usually with a local telemetry system
to track usage and included recruitment and training of leakage detection and repair crews. However, once
capital funding ended, many of these capabilities fell away, with breaching of DMA boundaries and loss of
skills and expertise. Little progress in leakage reduction was achieved as a result.
The performance has been stronger in the GDA, driven by the scarcity of water for current needs, though
even here, the performance varies considerably across the region. The challenge now is to re-assess the
leakage situation, assess the requirements (at regional and local level), to gradually reduce losses to an
acceptable target and to determine the urgent needs for targeted capital investment in pressure
management and mains strengthening and replacement.
The overall quality of drinking water in Ireland has been improving in recent years. Strategic initiatives by
the EPA such as the Remedial Action List (RAL) and water treatment initiatives relating to Cryptosporidium
and microbiological parameters have played an important role in this improvement. The RAL is a list of
public water supplies which require remedial action in order to ensure adequate drinking water quality. The
1
European Communities (Drinking Water) (No.2) Regulations, 2007: S.I. No. 278 of 2007
2
Serv ice Indicators in Local Authorities, 2011; Local Gov ernment Management Agency
16 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
RAL was first prepared by the EPA in 2008 and included a total of 339 public water supplies on the list.
Most of these schemes have been, or are now, being addressed through the current WSIP (2010-2012),
however 140 remain to be closed out.
The older distribution assets can cause water quality failures, while open reservoirs are no longer fit to store
treated water for consumption. Lead service pipes, both in public and private service pipes, are likely to risk
breaches of the new lower lead standard from January 2013. Although the RAL scheme has been very
effective in driving improvements there remains a backlog of schemes requiring investment. Many of t hose
outstanding schemes are larger plants, requiring more costly works. Improved standards and consistency of
operation, increased supervision and tighter process control will be vital to the delivery of services to
customers and avoiding the risk of failure of key health parameters water users.
2. 3
CURRE NT OV E RV IE W - W A S TE W A TE R
LAs have been providing waste water collection and treatment for approx. 1000 agglomerations. An
agglomeration is defined as an area where the population, and/or economic activities, are sufficiently
concentrated for urban waste water to be collected and conducted to an urban waste water treatment plant
or to a final discharge point. The agglomeration is the licensed unit regulated by EPA, taking account of the
area served, connectivity to a collection system, treatment and discharge to a receiving water body.
The large portfolio of assets for wastewater collection and treatment transferring to IW include:

Foul and combined sewer collection systems;

Rising mains and outfall pipes;

Pumping stations;

Storm attenuation tanks;

Waste water treatment plants;

Outfalls to receiving water; and

SCADA and Telemetry.
The Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations 2001-2010 set out requirements for the provision of waste
water collection systems and treatment plants including the treated effluent standard which is to be
achieved. More stringent standards than those laid down in these Regulations can be required on a case by-case basis to meet the environmental objectives of the Water Framework Directive3 (WFD), and also to
address the requirements of ‘protected areas’.
Under the Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations 2007, the EPA has implemented an
authorisation system for all LA waste water discharges. The Regulations outline the measures required
under Directives on Groundwater, Drinking Water, Bathing Water, Dangerous Substance, Habitats and
Birds. A total of 40 agglomerations do not have adequate “appropriate” or secondary treatment as required
3
EU Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC
17 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
by the Regulations, while 12 agglomerations do not have “adequate” nutrient removal as required by the
Regulations. In addition to these deficits it is estimated that in the order of 40% of the existing waste water
treatment plants are exceeding their current design capacity.
Based on 2011 data for performance of existing licensed waste water treatment plants, approximately 70%
of the plants were in compliance with the effluent standards required under the Urban Waste Water
Treatment Regulations. This means that a significant 30% of existing licensed plants needed some form of
improvement for compliance. Not all waste water treatment plants have yet been licensed to date therefore
the overall compliance figure may change when all the licences have been determined by the EPA.
The collection networks in most of the older urban areas are combined systems, which collect both foul and
surface water. Combined systems increase the possibility of overflow spills during rainfall events and the
potential for combined sewer flooding of properties. The availability of comprehensive hydraulic network
models is limited, hindering a better understanding and mitigation of these issues across the full asset base.
IW considers that failing to meet compliance standards for these networks has a potential liability of several
billion euros. The compliance programme will take place over at least 2 investment cycles, but the priority in
the Period must be to prioritise those overflows based on environmental impacts.
2. 4
P RE V IOUS CA P ITA L INV E S TME NT P ROGRA MME
Prior to this proposed CIP, the Capital Investment Programme was an Exchequer funded programme
developed and adopted by the DECLG. Investment was delivered under two distinct programmes, the
WSIP (2010-2012 most recently) and the Rural Water Programme (RWP).
Water Services Investment Programme
The WSIP was a three year rolling funding plan derived from a submission of ‘Assessment of Needs’ by
each of the 34 WSAs. The process enabled the WSAs to put forward the candidate schemes that would
enable their LA to meets its legislated and regulated requirements and also to meet the demands of future
growth in line with its planning objectives. The last WSIP was initially adopted for 2010-2012, but was
extended to 2013 due to the delayed start of many projects. Since then, many schemes have been further
delayed by funding constraints and planning challenges. The value of all schemes in the WSIP was some
€6bn, of which approximately €1.5bn was delivered due to emerging requirements for capital maintenance,
growth in demand or new regulation/designations offsetting the gains.
In the period from 2000–2011, a total of €5.6bn in Exchequer funding was invested under the WSIP with
matching funds of €1bn provided by LAs resulting in an average capital investment of approximately €550m
each year. Despite this substantial investment, the annual asset replacement rate was approximately 0.3%
per annum, falling well short of the requirements and best practice within other water utilities. It also reflects
an investment focus that was centred largely on compliance and capacity to meet the rapid demand growth
in the period to 2009.
18 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
The WSIP was to be fully aligned with the investment priorities identified in the River Basin Management
Plan (RBMP), the RAL and the needs of enterprise. Accelerated investment in water main rehabilitation and
emerging waste water discharge license criteria from EPA were also taken into account. The WSIP also
focused on:

Water conservation proposals to meet environmental and economic goals;

Environmental objectives to respond to ECJ rulings;

Environment/Public Health Objectives arising from EPA reports on drinking water standards;

Waste water treatment standards including the authorisation of waste water discharges;

Bathing water standards;

Pollution Reduction Programme for shellfish waters, fresh water pearl mussel, etc.;

Compliance with the WFD requirements; and

Economic objectives.
The WSIP 2010-2012 was estimated at some €6bn, covering all projects in planning and construction.
While IW would expect to achieve efficiencies in the CIP under various headings, this demonstrates the
large capital funding deficit that will need to be met in the coming decade. This figure includes over €1bn to
secure the long term water and wastewater needs of the GDA, without making any allowance for the major
compliance and asset renewal challenges to be resolved in the metropolitan region. Any realistic
assessment of the needs of the Dublin region would identify a medium term requirement of €2.5-3bn for
both water and drainage. The needs outside of the GDA are more difficult to define as they represent a
large number of much smaller systems.
As well as meeting the specific requirements of individual LA’s, based on their County Development Plans,
the WSIP was also required to address strategic national objectives for growth; strategic and sustainable
development under the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) and employment creation.
It is important to note that due to historic under-investment, especially the absence of routine planned
maintenance or incremental expansion, the majority of WSIP schemes were designed to ach ieve
compliance and provide for medium to long term capacity issues simultaneously. Many WSZs and
agglomerations experienced growth that outstripped the available water supplies and treatment capacities
during a period of rapid growth. This growth, paired with tighter regulation, compounded the compliance
challenges. The significant funds made available through the WSIP were only sufficient to “catch-up” on the
under investment in the most critical locations and consequently, hundreds of less critical assets remain
inadequate to meet demands.
In addition to the failure to upgrade smaller plants, little or no work was done to replace fragile pipes, in both
water and drainage networks, apart from a modest replacement programme in Dublin. While some GIS and
modelling studies were carried out, such as the Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study (GDSDS) in 2004,
the focus has been to advance the treatment processes, with no progress being made on serious network
19 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
deficiencies. Indeed, detailed studies into the problem of overflows in the city centre sewers only
commenced in 2013.
Each WSIP project has been engineered by consultancy firms to achieve the desired outcomes and
benefits in terms of compliance and availability. For each project a firm had to demonstrate their
competence to undertake the project and submit a fee proposal to the LA as part of a competitive tender
process. Once engaged, the consultants would typically have examined the existing infrastructure,
compliance, and legislative and growth requirements to arrive at solutions that met the LA and DECLG
objectives. The fact that each project was designed to achieve specific benefits is of considerable
reassurance to IW as it takes on “in-flight” projects and liabilities; however, the same process also presents
some challenges.
The favoured model for treatment plants (particularly wastewater treatment) was for a 20 year Design Build
Operate (DBO) contract which requires performance guarantees over the period and a ‘fit for purpose’ plant
at the end of the contract. This model has proven robust in terms of risk transfer and delivering good quality
outcomes with reasonable budget compliance. IW will however, where possible given the stage of the
project, look to achieve value savings by tightening control of growth provisions and allocating shorter
contracts, acknowledging the need for more regular capital interventions to achieve the best value in the
long term.
Contract budget data has not been kept up to date by LAs, who tended to rely on the consultants to
retrospectively account for contract liabilities, resulting in significant fluctuations for contract liabilities and
investment plan budgets. To establish some confidence in this area, IW has engaged directly with LAs to
establish a more accurate outlook for future liabilities, and produced a first estimate of the committed
liabilities at the end of 2013.
IW and LAs undertook extensive work to determine accurate financial commitments to all major projects. It
was necessary to net off the payments drawn down from DECLG during December 2013 (over €100m), and
to validate new commencement instructions by LAs at the end of 2013. Liabilities up to December 2013 are
being dealt with by accrual for resolution in the context of resolving an opening balance of financial assets
and liabilities, to be completed in June 2014.
Following a detailed review and validation, the capital investment estimate for committed work, and key
priority needs, will be close to the available capital projected for 2014 of €310m and will exceed this figure in
2015 and 2016. It is estimated that an additional capital investment of €310m per annum will be required to
meet immediate objectives, over and above the figures indicated by Government. IW will re-prioritise the
projects throughout 2014 based on more detailed information on the project drivers and criticality in order to
deliver the maximum benefits using the available capital. The capital funding position becomes even more
critical when the estimated capital maintenance deficit, the cost of key surveys and studies and customer
side programmes such as “first fix”, the cost of lead replacement, and of shared backyard services
resolution are taken into account.
20 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Rural Water Programme
During the 12 year period 2000–2011, Exchequer grants in the order of €952m were issued to LAs under
the RWP, equating to an annual spend in the region of €80m. The RWP was devolved to each LA and was
administered locally to address deficiencies in:

Group water schemes;

Private supplies; and

Small public water and sewerage schemes.
Similar to the supervisory role the EPA has over PWSs; LAs had and retain a similar role over the group
water and private supply schemes. A large proportion of the RWPs annual budget was ring-fenced for
improvements to these private and group schemes and so has no bearing on IW. The fund allocated to
small public water and sewerage schemes was typically spent on minor upgrades to increase capacity and
compliance on LA assets and played a key role in keeping critical assets operating. The scheme has been a
notable success, delivering significant improvements in both compliance and customer service, at modest
cost, with a strong interface between capital & operational work streams. The programmes were:
1(a) Drinking Water Compliance - RAL (existing schemes)
1(a) Drinking Water Compliance - RAL (New 2013 Schemes)
1(b) Drinking Water Compliance - OTHER (Non RAL)
2(a)Waste Water Compliance based on EPA Discharge Authorisations
2(b)Waste Water Compliance - OTHER (Non EPA Discharge Authorisation)
3 Development - Plan Core Strategies
4 Integrated Constructed Wetlands - 2013 Approvals
2. 5
FINA NCIA L LIA B ILITIE S OF COMP LE TE D A ND O THE R P ROJE CTS
IW will be responsible for the delivery of capital investment from January 1st, 2014 and where projects are
committed to contract IW will generally be obliged to honour contract terms, while seeking to ensure the
best value outcomes through its governance processes. 4 The cost of the live projects includes the cost of
4
Pursuant to the provisions of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 .
21 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
any contract claims and variations notified but not quantified. As stated, costs will also be incurred on
completed legacy contracts, to achieve commercial closure. IW has asked LAs to accrue for these costs in
the 2013 accounts for inclusion in the transfer of financial balances.
22 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
3
3. 1
T HE KEY INVEST M ENT CHALLENGES
E XE CUTIV E S UMMA RY – INV E S TME NT CHA LLE NGE S FOR 2014-2016
The focus of the proposed CIP is to seek funding to enable transition of the current “live” WSIP to IW, to
review all current projects in planning and to establish a strong asset management capability to enable
optimisation of the future investment decisions for maximum customer benefit. This section looks at the
challenges in the context of the Period, the approach to be adopted and the priority needs in order to
ensure customer and compliance requirements are reached.
IW faces many challenges as it assumes responsibility for the provision of many water services. An Asset
Management function has been established to enable IW to determine the optimum investment strategies,
based on understanding the capabilities of the current assets and achieving the optimum output from
operational and capital plans. This recognises the need to establish continuity of service delivery and to
develop a programme of transformation based on continuous improvement and change initiatives capable
of being delivered through SLAs.
Key investment focuses include:

Capital maintenance activity must address chronic deficiencies affecting customer performance of
the asset base. This requires both the provision of the right level of funding, but also control and
monitoring of all such investment via IW systems;

Drinking water quality compliance is the top investment priority for IW over the Period, requiring
fast-track investment and improved operations;

Drinking water availability is critical in up to 25% of schemes, with short term measures focused on
an integrated approach to leakage reduction (distribution & customer side), pressure management
and targeted mains replacement;

The ECJ Letter of Formal Notice requires immediate action to produce a compliance plan, which
will require short term investment, upgrades to existing plant assets and operations; and

A long-term plan is required to identify the future priorities for both water resource management
and environmental compliance, within which major longer term investments need to be planned for
delivery in 5-10 years.
3. 2
A S S E T MA NA GE ME NT FUNCTIONA L I TY & IMP LE ME NTA TIO N
IW will work towards adoption of an industry quality standard for effective and sustainable asset
management (i.e. PAS 55 /ISO55000). Integrated asset management based decision making represents a
radical change from the current provision of water services in Ireland, where the level of asset information is
limited and maintenance tends to be reactive rather than planned. As outlined in the previous section,
reactionary major capital investment is the norm and there is limited implementation of a structured
approach to asset management. Current data systems are ad hoc, with at best piecemeal GIS systems,
little condition based data and very limited recording of asset maintenance activity.
23 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
The introduction of best practice asset management will bring major benefits in terms of achieving better
performance and reduced risk from the existing and new asset base. It will facilitate more targeted
investment that will provide better value to the water services customer. As the asset management systems
develop and mature, best practice asset management will provide IW with a much better understanding of
asset performance. For example, in the case of the waste water collection networks, comprehensive GIS
databases and hydraulic models will be developed to record properties at risk of combined sewer flooding
and to plan measures to mitigate the risks.
At the core of asset management is a requirement for good quality data, which presents a major challenge
to IW due to the limited asset data records or consistency of approach across LAs to date. There is
reasonable information on the water supply networks, however in many instances the data has not been
updated since the original project began. The waste water network has very limited information, with poor or
fragmented mapping. Although manhole and CCTV surveys have been carried out occasionally, the results
of these studies are not centrally stored and lack of referencing for confident integration to IW databases.
The collection of data will be an on-going programme for IW as the business records information on several
thousand above ground assets, on operational sites and also for a total water and waste water pipeline
length. Data capture for the waste water collection network will be particularly challenging as this will require
physical surveying for asset location, type and size and a CCTV survey for asset condition, unless reliably
available.
The asset management priorities for the Period therefore are:
Asset Strategy & Sustainability; to establish the strategic planning function within water and wastewater
services, initially founded on targeted studies and surveys, with the objective of transitioning to an asset
management framework supported by industry standard data capture, analytics and reporting over a period
of years.
Asset Data & Information; will target a comprehensive GIS system covering all underground assets, using
current data by end of 2014. This will be supplemented by a core telemetry/SCADA plan, to provide an
initial central control, connecting the priority plants, with the capacity to develop a comprehensive
supervisory & control system. Associated hydraulic modelling capabilities will begin by adopting and
maintaining the GDA water & drainage models, defining standards and co-ordinating rollout of priority
modelling studies to support the evaluation of investment scenarios.
An urgent focus is license support which will target the expansion of the ‘Discharge to Sewer’ licensing
regime (s.16) of the Water Pollution Acts 1977-1990. If delivered to a national standard, equivalent to that in
Dublin City/South Dublin, licencing can reduce costs to treatment and operational problems due in particular
to fats, oils and greases (FOGs) blockages.
24 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Asset Policies & Standards; will prioritise critical policies on asset risk, public health standards,
environmental compliance, spatial planning framework and key sustainability policies, while putting in place
core standard specifications and details; and identifying key technical opportunities. A key output will be
creating a 25 year vision for IW that defines a phased evolution for the regulated business, towards
sustainable, robust, resilient and cost effective services that meet customers’ expectations.
Water Services Strategies; will detail regional plans to achieve leakage reduction to economically and
environmentally sustainable levels and water resources plans and to meet economic needs, with defined
headroom levels appropriate to the risk model. The development of Water Safety Plans to EPA/WHO
Guidelines is recognised as a key priority in medium term risk management for good quality drinking water.
By initiating strategic plans for the GDA and other regions in 2014, this unit will define an optimum balance
for water management and capacity upgrades, with priority asset renewals .
Wastewater & Sludge Strategies; initial focus will be to respond to the ECJ Task Force Study and
enforcement proceedings taken by the EU Commission against Ireland regarding delays in compliance.
This area is highly complex and requires understanding of the water quality issues from an integrated
catchment perspective, as a basis for economical and environmentally sustainable outcomes. A multidisciplinary study has already commenced, combining water quality, wastewater technology and local
scheme specific data as a basis for EU/EPA engagement and a prioritised action plan. Other priorities
include more effective load management at source, network leakage/overflow studies and updated national
and regional sludge strategies.
Asset Investments will work closely with Asset Programmes & Capital Delivery to take control of the CIP
portfolio of projects, in order to establish a budget baseline and a process for managing a programme of
€300-500m, the estimated minimum level of capital investment required to achieve meaningful progress
towards short term service objectives. Key priorities are:

Migrating all live projects and new projects into a fully costed set of work programmes, within a
budget management framework capable of maintaining and reporting against monthly targets. This
includes risk assessment of all ‘in-flight’ projects and formatting budgets to IW requirements.

Establishing and supporting a rigorous investment governance process, with criteria for
prioritisation and approval of projects through a ‘gated’ process, ensuring best value outcomes
consistent with agreed policies and strategies.

Technical & economic criteria and review processes to ensure that IW policies and standards are
delivered on and completed projects are assessed for compliance with objectives .
Asset Programmes; will take control of the CIP delivery in terms of quality, time and cost targets,
supervising LA Capital Programme Offices (CPOs) and set up IW systems and reporting from the outset,
including:
25 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016

Water
Major
Capital
will
be
responsible
for
covering
production,
network,
water
conservation/rehabilitation and resolving drinking water deficits. This will include a dedicated
Programme Manager to take responsibility for resolving the inherited “Boil Water” notices, by
working with LAs, the EPA and the HSE.

Waste Water & Sludge Major Capital will address the priority wastewater compliance projects,
while also providing upgraded capacity and supporting current sludge strategies in addition to
significant new and upgraded network projects.

Minor Capital will be a major focus given the known deficit in on-going planned maintenance for
resolution of capacity and compliance deficits. Key challenges include reducing operating cost, or
risk, as well as resolving local network issues and securing sufficient capital in this area, based on
inherited commitments to major projects.
New Development needs to be accompanied by capacity to strengthen networks, upgrade pumping stations
and extend connectivity in conjunction with local development agreements. The initial focus will be to
operate existing connection policies, review significant planning proposals, and to design and deliver urgent
schemes to support employment and residential opportunities . A Contract Strategy Team will establish a
suite of contracts, suitable for best value delivery of works and services across the business, with guidelines
and support for selecting optimum contract and procurement frameworks and strategies.
These priority areas for asset management mobilisation will deliver priority outcomes targeted at immediate
customer benefit, meeting national objectives, and providing the core capabilities to be developed and
expanded over the 2014-2016 period.
3. 3
A S S E T INV E NTORY A ND P E RFORMA NCE
To develop a meaningful approach to capital maintenance planning, there is a need to shift from a reactive
to a planned approach to capital asset maintenance. Key elements of this shift are set out in the figure
below.
Asset Register
Condition &
Performance
Assessments
and Standards
Servicibility
forecasts and
risk based
prioritisation
Capital
Maintenance
Plan
Figure 5: Shift from a reactive to a planned approach for capital asset maintenance
Currently no consolidated database of existing above ground assets exists , except at a very high level.
Some LAs have listings of sub-components. However, condition, performance assessment and specific
asset histories, particularly at unit process level and component levels, are not widely undertaken, nor can
the spend history on specific assets be determined.
26 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Good quality data has been gathered on below ground water assets through rehabilitation programmes over
the last number of years, however a significant gap exists in data relating to sewers, with high quality data
being available only for schemes that were included in the WSIP.
A programme implementing asset data collection and performance assessment is key to progressing an
effective capital maintenance plan. This will commence during the Period, but will take a significant period of
time to complete. From a practical and financial point of view, it should be prioritised according to the
criticality of schemes for investment, with first stage GIS and central SCADA capabilities, followed by
strategic hydraulic models capable of simulating service levels under a variety of operational and
development scenarios.
3.3.1
CRITICA L A SSETS
A key task will be identifying critical assets, the failure of which could result in significant impacts on
customers, the environment and costs. Generally such assets are not identified or ranked on the basis of
risk to service maintenance deficit. In order to maximise return on investment and harness efficiencies, a
shift to planned rather than reactive maintenance of these assets will be required. Identification of key
assets will be prioritised during the Period, and supported by a risk analysis and decision matrix (including
probability and consequences of failure).
3.3.2
CA PITA L MA INTENA NCE PROGRA MME
Whereas many LAs have effective routine maintenance programmes in place for certain mechanical plant
items, ensuring the functionality of assets and extending asset lives, there is little or no planned capital
maintenance that targets restoring or maximising their performance. The absence of capital replacement
funds or accumulated depreciation funds, together with limited headroom in operations budgets to cater for
such work, has led to the practice of running assets to failure. As such, resources are deployed largely
towards reactive maintenance.
Reactive maintenance is generally less cost efficient than planned maintenance, but is the default option
where no risk based planning is available to target planned work. IW will implement a programme to
evaluate asset performance and develop risk based prioritisation of active maintenance during the Period.
This will evolve to a structured capital maintenance plan over subsequent periods.
By 2016, IW plans, together with the LAs, to introduce workflow management, recording all maintenance
activities, recorded with spatial reference to GIS. This data will define the profile of asset based
maintenance expenditure, which will facilitate scenario analysis between combinations of capital and
operational investment.
27 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
3.3.3
ESTIMA TION OF CA PITA L MA INTENA NCE EXPEND IT URE REQUIREMENT
In order to estimate capital maintenance levels three companies in the UK, operating at a similar scale to
Ireland, were identified for comparison: Scottish Water, Welsh Water and Wessex Water.
Each of these companies have specific characteristics that impact on cost structures, however the former
two operate in a spatially similar environment to Ireland, i.e. dispersed population with a number of larger
centres. Scotland has more recently adopted an economic regulatory approach and may better reflect the
Irish situation. Efficiencies that have evolved since the UK water companies were set up and the impac ts of
historic capital investment programmes on asset age profile also need to be taken into consideration.
Ireland in contrast, is likely to be carrying a large asset maintenance deficit . As detailed asset data is not
available for Ireland, high level asset data from a PwC Report was utilised to make a first assessment of the
deficit. 5 There is an unquantified deficit in investment, arising from historic underinvestment in infrastructure
maintenance in Ireland, which will impact on the proportion of reactive to planned maintenance needs for a
number of years. It should also be noted that major investment, via the WSIP, has been primarily focused
on larger schemes. Ireland also has a significantly higher number of sources and small treatment facilities
than Scotland, albeit underground assets would appear to be comparable in scale. Market costs for services
in the UK may be different from Ireland, due to the larger market and shorter supply chains. In any cost
comparison, factors such as labour costs, LA Central Management Charges (CMC), VAT treatment and the
historic legacy deficit must be accounted for.
Two estimate approaches based on the UK analysis resulted in an annual funding requirement range of
between €170m and €312m, with the latter figure reflecting a revaluation of assets in Scottish Water based
on more detailed asset data becoming available in 2009.
Using the second methodology, based on an estimated Modern Equivalent Asset Value (MEA V) for Irish
assets, infrastructural renewal investment based on 1% for below ground assets and 3.5% for above ground
assets (representing the investment requirement to balance depreciation based on the weighted age of
Scottish assets) amounted to €236m.
An analysis of 2013 costs from LA budgets suggests that the capital element is currently 10-20% of this
figure. The Capital Programme may cover about 50% of this requirement embedded in projects, with a
contribution of €30m to this requirement coming from a small schemes budget. However, a balance of €5070m per annum in the enduring state still exists for essential capital maintenance required to offset asset
depreciation.
5
Irish Water: Phase 1 Report; PwC; 2 Nov ember 2011.
28 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
3.3.4
A SSET DA TA CA PTURE SY STEMS
Asset data will be acquired through a number of channels . The acceleration of this data acquisition will
facilitate moving from a reactive to a planned capital maintenance approach. Next steps include:

Collection of asset data associated with all reactive maintenance from January 2014, based on
phased rollout of workflow planning and data capture via handheld systems;

Specific asset surveys which will be funded under Minor Capital Works Programmes and other key
studies; and

Standardisation of asset data collection, against defined standards and policies, initially referenced
to the Annual Service Plan (ASP) metrics agreed for the 2013 plan.
Condition and performance data to be collected will include asset attribute data, cost of
rehabilitation/replacement; historic data on asset service and availability, operational maintenance cos ts,
unit capacity and system redundancy. Data will be used to establish asset criticality, performance and
condition grades and, in time, utilised to forecast asset deterioration so as to inform future investment plans.
Identification of critical assets will be prioritised, it will require a full transition to the planned utility systems,
through a number of years of ASPs, before high level activity based costs can be assessed.
3. 4
INV E S TME NT A S S E S S ME NT CRITE RIA
IW anticipate that asset replacement investment will be prioritised based on asset failure (capacity based or
compliance), primarily for plants and networks that were not upgraded as part of the WSIP or other
investment streams over the last 10-20 years, and where frequent data failure identifies the need for
upgrade. Cost records for these activities will be captured and analysed to generate a spread of costs for
similar undertakings. These will form the basis for target costs and will be used in conjunction with asset
data to generate future investment programmes.
It is likely that budget constraints will limit the scope of asset maintenance in 2014. Planned works will be
assessed by business cases and prioritised by evidence-based asset condition, performance and criticality
data and will address whole life cost of investment. Priority will be given to investments that can clearly
maximise customer service benefit, deliver significant savings in operating costs and demonstrate effective
delivery of selected projects.
Cost, operational and performance review of works will be carried out to evaluate planned interventions and
assess their suitability as standardised roll out solutions for future scalable efficiencies. Metrics based on
risk reduction and whole life economic cost benefit analysis will be developed to inform investment
decisions. Initially these will be based on economic criteria, but will progress to risk based criteria when
adequate data on historic asset performance is available.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
3. 5
HE A LTH & S A FE TY
As IW takes over responsibility for the provision of many water services, ensuring the health and safety of
personnel working on behalf of IW at operational sites will be a fundamental priority for the organisation.
This poses a significant challenge as the organisation currently has no assessment of the existing
operational sites in terms of personnel safety. The provision of water services includes working in proximity
to significant hazards including:

Working close to deep water at IW sites and also at rivers and lakes;

Working with hazardous chemicals;

Working at heights;

Working in confined spaces with potential for oxygen deficiency and toxic or explosive gases ;

Explosive gas and dust; and

Electrical installations.
While IW does not have qualitative data on the requirements for safety upgrades at operational sites, the
organisation is aware that investment will be required at many sites to bring them up to an adequate safety
level. The challenge for the Period will be to identify safety deficits and to put plans in place to address
these within an appropriate time frame.
3. 6
DRINK ING W A TE R QUA LITY & RIS K
The Drinking Water Regulations 20076 set out the quality standards to ensure that drinking water is clean
and safe for human consumption. Quality standards are set for three groups of parameters; namely
microbiological, chemical and indicator parameters. In terms of public health, the microbiological
parameters are the most important as they can indicate a potential risk to health. This is followed closely by
chemical parameters as prolonged exposure to these substances in the water supply can indicate a
potential risk to health. Other indicator parameters can reflect operational performance weaknesses and
risks to output standards.
The key parameters targeted from a water quality perspective are:

Bacterial contamination represented by the presence of E Coli; Cryptosporidium breakthrough into
supply, derived from animal faeces and slurry spreading; it is resistant to chlorine and requires a
multiple barrier approach for minimum risk;

Trihalomethanes are products of dissolved organics with chlorine which require effective physic chemical treatment; and

Lead is a key challenge in supplies with lead service pipe, following reduction of the prescribed limit
to 10µg/l from the end of December 2013.
6
European Communities (Drinking Water) (No.2) Regulations 2007, S.I. No. 278 of 2007
30 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
3. 7
DRINK ING W A TE R A V A ILA B ILITY
A key challenge for IW will be to ensure that adequate volumes of water are available to match varying, and
in many cases, growing demands across all WSZs. Water demand typically varies over the year and normal
practice is to aim to have capacity in the WSZ to cater for the Average Day Peak Week (ADPW) demand
plus a headroom factor. The headroom factor adds resilience to the supply and ensures that demand can
continue to be met in the event of plant failures or adverse weather conditions (such as flood impact or
drought). Short term growth factors, seasonal peaks and critical infrastructure risks should also be taken
into account.
Given that it can currently take 10-15 years to deliver new source and treatment capacity infrastructure from
the concept stage to final delivery, it is a major challenge to ensure that adequate capacity will be available
to meet future demands. IW expects to reduce the timeframe for capital delivery of major strategic
infrastructure, although timelines of up to 10 years may still be required due to the complexity of the
statutory approvals that are required.
Based on supply capacity versus average distribution input data received from the DECLG for 2012, it
would appear that up to 25% of WSZs across the country are operating at or below critical headroom. This
provides an indication of the scale of challenge presented by current capacity deficits.
Besides providing for current demands and planning for future demands, there is a challenge to provide
security of supply and resilience to WSZs, which are appropriate to their size. IW will also have to identify
critical infrastructure where a failure results in large numbers of people having no water supply for extended
periods. IW will need to plan to manage the risk of failure of these assets at an acceptable risk level.
3. 8
E NV IRONME NTA L
COMP LIA NCE ,
URB A N
W A S TE W A TE R
TRE A TME NT
RE GULA TIONS & THE W A TE R FRA ME W ORK DIRE CTIV E
Since the 1970’s, the EU has championed higher standards of wastewater discharge to inland, estuarine
and coastal waters across Europe. The original directives required treatment to defined limit values for
parameters. The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive7 (UWWTD) subsequently required secondary
treatment in most cases (BOD5 < 25mg/l and SS < 35mg/l), with tighter standards required where dilutions
are reduced, together with limitations on such parameters as Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and limits on
bacterial load (Faecal Coliforms) to bathing or shellfish waters.
Prior to 2000, very few coastal discharges received treatment beyond screening and marine discharge,
where environmental impacts were limited by the available dilution and dispersion characteristics. However,
the UWWTD required that all such discharges receive secondary treatment as a minimum, and major new
7
EU Council Directive 91/271/EEC
31 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
plants have been provided to accommodate this. These include plants at Dublin Bay (Ringsend), Cork,
Waterford, Limerick, Sligo and most recently in Shanganagh/Bray and Letterkenny. Given the scale and
complexity of these plants, the capacity to operate and maintain them was outsourced, leading to long term
DBO Contracts. Apart from the scale of capital investment, the operating cost of these plants is significant.
While major progress has been made, the combination of a number of factors has created a substantial
legacy of non-compliance with the UWWTD, resulting in the current ECJ infraction proceedings. These are:

Many smaller plants remain to be treated, while a small number of larger plants are delayed by
planning issues;

The major economic and demographic changes since 2000 have impacted load conditions,
resulting in plant overloading or the need for tighter standards to protect receiving waters;

Conservation or protection designations by the DECLG, other Government departments or most
frequently the National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) can result in more stringent requirements,
beyond those currently required;

Excess storm inflows and infiltration to foul sewers can lead to excessive discharges at CSOs or at
treatment, leading to breaches of standard. The poor quality of sewer records and limited condition
or hydraulic modelling data makes it difficult to quantify the issue; and

Plant operation by LAs is a factor in non-compliance, with inadequate maintenance or process
control, inadequate inflow measurement or influent/effluent sampling all leading to compliance
failures.
The legacy issues under the UWWTD are a major challenge facing IW in 2014 and beyond. However, the
EU focus has now moved beyond this emission value based regulation to a more holistic and output based
approach, designed to reverse the impacts of societal activity by restoring all EU waters to ‘ good’ status.
While the basic Emission Limit Value (ELV) standards continue to apply, the WFD will be the focus for
action in pursuit of a better quality water environment. The WFD addresses all of the challenges faced by
EU waters and requires a holistic and integrated approach to water management on a catchment wide
basis. The key challenges for IW for the Period are:

Achieving consensus across DECLG, EPA and the EU Commission on an achievable plan for
meeting key compliance objectives in the short term;

Developing an evidence based approach to license standards and targets for receiving waters and
an agreed method of prioritising schemes for upgrade;

Effective engagement across the stakeholder group in finalising the River Basin Management
Plans for 2016-2021 under the WFD; and

Capturing the required system data to optimise the investment choices in determining the optimum
approach to achieving compliance in wastewater agglomerations.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
3. 9
CUS TOME R S E RV ICE A B IL ITY S TA NDA RDS
Customer serviceability standards represent the ability of the asset base to deliver defined levels of service
to customers. With the exception of drinking water quality and certain measures of UFW, KPIs for customer
serviceability standards are not currently measured.
As IW takes over responsibility for the provision of water services, comprehensive records and
measurement of customer KPIs will be put in place. They will include:

Drinking water quality;

Drinking water pressure and flow;

Interruptions to supply;

Leakage/UFW;

Sewer blockages & pump failures, leading to flooding, overflows or incidents ; and

Sewer flooding and risk of sewer flooding.
Based on anecdotal evidence, there are currently significant numbers of water service consumers who
receive a level of service which is less than satisfactory, in terms of drinking water quality or supply
pressure. As domestic consumers do not currently pay for their water supply, it is considered that they are
willing to tolerate this level of service. However, when these domestic consumers start paying for their water
supply, it can be expected that there will be a large demand for the level of service to be brought up to an
acceptable standard. The propensity of water service customers, both domestic and non-domestic, to pay
for water and wastewater services is likely to be substantially determined by progress on these basic issues
of customer service.
The challenge for IW during the Period will be to establish and record a baseline for customer KPIs. During
this Period, programmes of work to address asset serviceability standards and deficiencies will also be
identified and plans developed for future investments. The ASPs under the SLA s will endeavour to drive
best practice operation to current asset capacity where possible, through better process control, effective
maintenance, leakage control and measures to prevent sewer blockages .
3. 10 CLIMA TE CHA NGE
Climate change is likely to have a significant impact on IW operations in the medium to long term. These
impacts are likely to cause a range of issues:

Possible reduced sustainable abstraction rates from some raw water sources ;

Combined sewer flooding due to more frequent extreme weather events ;

Flooding of IW assets due to extreme weather events; and

Sea level rise causing inundation of IW assets.
33 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Many UK water companies have identified climate change as one of the main challenges which they expect
to face over the next 25 years. The challenge for IW during the Period is to identify assets at risk and to
develop an appropriate climate change adaptation strategy.
In addition to climate change adaptation there will also be a significant challenge in to the form of climate
change mitigation. Water services including treatment and pumping of water and waste water are energy
intensive. IW will be required to develop a strategy to increase energy efficiency and reduce its carbon
footprint in line with ambitious Government targets for the public sector.
3. 11 LONG TE RM P LA NNING & S TRA TE GIC OB JE CTIV E S
In addition to the process of developing the CIP (required by statute to be submitted within four weeks of the
transfer date, the IWP), IW has commenced work on the preparation of a WSSP to 2040. As noted above,
the WSSP is required under the Water Services Act (No. 2) 2013 and will be a statutory plan, subject to
Ministerial approval. This plan will undergo Strategic Environmental Assessment. The WSSP will set out the
strategic direction of IW in the long term and will set out high level strategic objectives across a range of
areas, including:

Customer KPIs;

Water Supply;

Waste Water Management & Environmental Compliance;

Sustainability & Climate Change; and

Safety & Efficiency.
The WSSP will provide a strategic framework under which the 6 year cycle CIPs will be developed.
Furthermore, it will take into account national, regional and local development plans, and their associated
socio-economic policy framework. IW will be obliged to consult with regional and local councils and a wide
range of statutory stakeholders, during the making of the WSSP. The CIP will be reviewed as appropriate
when the WSSP is in place.
As part of the implementation of the WSSP, IW will need to develop a number of plans within the 2014-2016
Period, which will define the strategic context for particular capital projects in order to achieve key policy
objectives. These strategic plans will include the following:

National Water Resource Management Plan;

National Sludge Management Plan;

Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategy;

Region based plans for leakage reduction in water networks ; and

Region based plans for leakage reduction and renewal of waste water networks .
IW will strive to develop and adopt these plan and strategies within the Period and in compliance with any
applicable legal requirements.
34 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
4
4. 1
CAPIT AL INVEST M ENT PROGRAM M E T RANSIT ION
E XE CUTIV E S UMMA RY - K E Y E LE ME NTS OF TRA NS ITION P LA NNING
The WSIP 2010- 2012 was overseen by the DECLG up to the end of 2013, at which point it transitioned to
IW. Delivery of individual projects under the programme have to date been managed by LAs who recouped
expenditure from DECLG on an agreed cost split basis governed by a Water Services Pricing Policy
agreement.
This approach meant that funds were drawn down retrospectively from the Exchequer upon the delivery of
projects, in accordance with a governance process. While this approach was straightforward for “in flight”
projects, it was complicated by the scale and complexity of the multi-stage approvals, delaying the closing
out of capital projects and resulting in LAs carrying substantial unfunded balances often for many years. To
address this, the IWP has now developed systems and structures to support IW in the delivery of a high
performance utility model that is capable of prioritising the appropriate investments and managing the
efficient delivery of projects, as is described in this section.
4. 2
TA RGE T OP E RA TING MODE L A ND A S S E T MA NA GE M E NT S TRUCTURE S
The IW TOM has set the foundation for the business capability and organisation development projects
within the IWP. It consists of a number of key capabilities centred on defining the functions, organisation
and processes that IW will need in order to undertake its business activities.
4.2.1
A SSET INFORMA TIO N MA NA GEMENT
IW’s Asset Information Management capability is accountable for the development of information strategy,
security, governance structure and policies. It is also responsible for the design of appropriate data,
systems and reporting architectures and maintenance of the asset registers.
Maximo/Click/Syclo/GIS: the Work and Asset Management (WAM) systems have been developed to
initiate, schedule, track, execute and manage work and inventory on all above ground and below ground
assets. The full deployment of this capability will take a number of years to deliver across all operational
activities, beginning with 3 initial pilot LAs in Q2, 2014.
Oracle: Management of the payment process to contractors will be through the Oracle ‘Procure to Pay’
process and will be linked back to the asset via Maximo.
Primavera: Programme and project management of major capital projects will be through Primavera which
will monitor and report on the project lifecycle from Water Investment Appraisal Committee (WIAC) Gate 1
to Gate 5 completion.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
4.2.2
INV ESTMENT A PPROV A L A ND GOV ERNA NCE
IW has established a system of governance and oversight on all expenditure to ensure that objectives are
met and to comply with Board Policy (PD/03). To guarantee this IW has established a Water Investment
Approval Committee (WIAC) to preside over the governance process with further reference to the Irish
Water Board and ultimately the BGÉ Group Board above defined thresholds. Further governance for
approval of major capital expenditures will apply from the Irish Water Board, BGÉ Group Executive and
Board, and from the Exchequer in respect to major capital spending.
The principle purpose of the approval process is to ensure that IW funds are allocated in an efficient manner
by establishing the merits of expenditure (Capex & Opex) proposals using a consistent and comprehensive
framework. Good governance for project review and approval requires that the needs and opportunities for
expenditures are continually identified, assessed, approved, completed and reviewed in a timely, effective
and informed manner. This will ensure that IW establishes the optimal asset investment portfolio and
delivers the highest performance outcomes from its investments. The key participants in this process are:
1. Water Investment and Approval Committee (WIAC) is made up of the Heads of Departments of IW.
Their authorisation is required before a project or programme can proceed.
2. Asset Strategy typically propose and progress the WSSP and CIP to Gate 0 and once approved submit
the programme proposals to Gate 1.
3. Asset Programmes bring the project/programme through Gates 2 to Gate 4 and include statutory
consents, design and cost estimates.
4. Asset Investments own the Phases and Gates processes. They also undertake post investment reviews
at Gate 5 to complete the project/programme.
5. Capital Delivery progress projects through construction and commissioning.
All capital projects and programmes require specific WIAC approval, above and beyond budget approval,
i.e. appropriate business cases must be submitted for approval in advance of any expenditure relating to
capital projects and programmes. Expenditure relating to minor capital works is the only capital expenditure
that may be incurred on the strength of a WIAC budget approval only.
An appraisal methodology has been developed and applied to the current capital programme assigning a
relative importance, weighting and risk factor to relevant investment drivers. Decision trees have been
developed for each asset category in order to prioritise projects within each of these key areas by driver and
asset type.
36 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Figure 6: Optimising the Portfolio.
There are five mandatory review/approval points in the lifecycle of an IW project investment appraisal and
approval process. These points are referred to as “Gates”. The 5 Gates cover the progressive approval of
projects from conception to post implementation. Requirements for approval at each gate will vary
depending on the business impact, risk and materiality of projects. Approval at a Gate means that the
project/programme is permitted to proceed to the next Gate. It also means that the appropriate level of
funding (Approved Cost Budget – ACB), required to get to the next Gate has been granted.
The following is a description of the 5 Gates in the WIAC process:

Gate 0 - Business Plan Approval

Gate 1 – Approval to Start Concept Design

Gate 2 – Approval to Prepare Design and Cost Estimate

Gate 3 – Investment and Construction Approval

Gate 4 – Project Closure Approval

Gate 5 – Post Investment Review Approval
Project Control Limits are defined as the limits on project parameters such as scope, schedule, budget, or
the quality and expected project benefits which, if projected to over-run, require additional authorisation to
proceed. When a project is expected to exceed a limit at any Gate, it will be referred back to the WIAC for
an Exception Investment Review to consider whether the project is still viable in light of the new estimates
for costs and benefits. Exceeding any of the following Control Limit parameters (at any Gate), will require a
referral/resubmission back to WIAC:

Where Forecast Out-turn Cost (FOC) is likely to exceed the budget;

Where the project completion date is expected to be delayed;

Where there is change in original scope; and

Where the expected benefits have decreased such that the Net Present Value (NPV) of costs and
benefits are no longer valid.
37 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Any of the following conditions will also require a referral / resubmission back to WIAC:

If the approval has exceeded 12 months and the project has not started/commenced;

Should a project, although commenced, remains dormant for a period in excess of 12 months; or

If the project is still viable in light of the new estimates for costs and benefits.
38 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Figure 7: Investment Approval Committee Project Lifecycle Gates.
39 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
4.2.3
PROGRA MME MA NA GEMENT
Management of the current programme involves the Asset Information Management systems outlined
above for day to day management. IW staff will be responsible for the programme management. Delivery of
the Capital Programme is being carried out through the LA staff currently working in Capital Project Offices
reporting to IW Capital Delivery Team. They also manage the day to day project activities including
interfaces with IW Programme managers, contractors and consultants. Commissioning support and asset
handover procedures are managed by Capital Delivery (via Capital Project Office staff) with input from
Asset Operations and LA operational staff via the SLAs.
40 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
5
5. 1
CAPIT AL INVEST M ENT PLAN 2014-2016
E XE CUTIV E S UMMA RY – INV E S TME NT P LA N DE V E LOP ME NT
This section sets out IW’s approach to the investment challenges described in Section 3 and describes the
processes that have been used to arrive at the total capital funding requirement detailed in Section 6. The
plan is broadly categorised into two sections: Major Capital and other programmes. The Major Capital
projects include all the WSIP projects and other programmes including those required to support and
develop IWs asset management, business efficiency and related capabilities. This section sets out the
context and treatment of IWs investment drivers and the programmes and priorities that have evolved.
There are a range of legislative requirements that require IW to invest in measures to resolve drinking water
and waste water compliance issues. IW has developed a “decision-tree” process to assign a weighting to
the investment drivers and calculate the relative priority of projects, clearly favouring compliance issues
over capacity. In addition to the Major Capital projects, IW has developed a new programme of Minor
Capital projects. These are specific projects or programmes aimed at developing and delivering low capital
cost solutions to address quality, statutory and business efficiency deficits, where possible utilising
standardised solution packages. Each project will address specific drivers, but additional enhancement
works may be incorporated if the benefit meets with investment approval criteria.
IW will also need to progress a number of key studies during the Period in order to develop the Asset
Management basis for the business; to ensure a clear strategic direction for capital investment; to provide
best value for water service customers and to deliver sustainable and incremental environmental
improvements. These key studies are also outlined in this section.
5. 2
DE V E LOP ME NT OF THE CA P ITA L INV E S TME NT P L A N
IW will be taking on projects at all stages in the project life cycle from the 34 LAs, which have up until now
been delivered under the governance of the DECLG. During the Period, IW will deliver priority projects as
effectively as possible, given the existing funding, statutory consents, procurement, contractual and
governance constraints.
It is important to note that only after IW has completed this full set of legacy projects will it have the ability to
develop a full CIP based exclusively on the water utility procurement and delivery model. IW is actively
developing priority contract models and procurement frameworks, utilising the BGÉ Group procurement
capability and through the establishment of a Shared Services function, serving both the water and gas
businesses.
41 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
5.2.1
INV ESTMENT DRIV ERS A ND PRIORIT IES
Investment projects were identified during the development of the WSIP 2010-2012. The DECLG issued
Circular L6/09, which set out parameters for the prioritisation of projects. It stated that the specific
environmental and economic pressures, that had emerged in the preceding years, were to form the basis
for developing the Assessment of Needs Reports, which would feed into the WSIP 2010–2012. Priority
projects were classified into the following categories: 8

Category 1: Water conservation proposals to meet environmental and economic goals;

Category 2: Works required to respond to ECJ judgments;

Category 3: Environment/Public Health Objectives arising from compliance with WFD
requirements and other regulations; and

Category 4: Works to support sustainable development of hubs and gateways under the NSS,
strategic developing areas and works to support employment creation.
IW recognises these priorities as key drivers for continued investment, but has identified two additional
priorities of drinking water quality and quantity and customer service. Both are considered critical to
encouraging customer propensity to pay water charges once bills are issued from Q1 2015. As IW develops
its Asset Management function, it will seek to identify critical investment needs to sustain and upgrade asset
performance, while recognising the need to achieve best value outcomes from current and new assets. IW’s
fundamental goal is to deliver a reliable supply of clean, safe drinking water and effective waste water
services at an affordable price. Its long-term strategy has led to the definition of the key investment drivers
demonstrated in the figure below.
Health &
Safety
Environmenta
l Compliance
Wastewater
Availability
Drinking
Water Quality
Investment
Drivers
Drinking
Water
Availability
Meeting
Customer
Service
Obligations
Asset
Condition &
Performance
Business
Efficiencies
Figure 8: Irish Water Capital Investment Drivers.
8
th
DECLG Adv ice Note Circular L6/09 Water Serv ices Inv estment Programme 2010-2012, Assessment of Needs 2009, Issued 17 July 2009.
42 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
These investment drivers build on the original drivers set by the DECLG, the EPA and LAs and will include
evidence based studies to identify risks. It should also be noted that the overarching driver of health and
safety will underpin investment in water assets. IW recognises that investment will be required in order to
bring a proportion of existing assets in line with current health and safety standards. This investment need
will be quantified more accurately as the IW HSQE function gains knowledge of its assets, through site
surveys and risk identification studies.
5.2.2
PRIORIT ISA T IO N OF INV ESTMENT DRIV ERS
IW will strive to achieve drinking water quality standards, environmental compliance and serviceability goals
within limited budgets for capital investment. Therefore projects have been ranked in order of risk and
criticality. The risk assessment methodology provides a means of assigning a relative importance weighting
and risk factor, to the investment drivers which enables optimisation of spend across multi ple drivers with
competing priorities.
The approach to asset investment for water and waste water infrastructure has been to determine the
drivers for investment and to use “decision trees” to evaluate the relative priorities within each driver
category.
IW is faced with a large compliance deficit for the initial investment period and consequently, investment
decisions are dominated by basic compliance and capacity requirements . As a result, asset condition,
business efficiencies and customer serviceability obligations will come into focus as the utility matures. All
projects within the current WSIP 2010-2012 have been assessed using the relevant decision tree to
develop the overall programme of priority projects for the CIP. The following example illustrates the use of
decision trees for prioritisation of Water Quality and Environmental Compliance.
Drinking Water Investment Prioritisation
The primary aim for drinking water quality investment is to protect human health and achieve full
compliance with the Drinking Water Regulations. On this basis, the order of priority for drinking water
projects is to address exceedances firstly in terms of health and safety issues and microbiological
parameters, then chemical and indicator parameters. Leakage and capacity issues are a secondary priority
in this category. This reflects the hierarchy of issues impacting water service customers, from adverse
health through to aesthetic nuisance or inconvenience impacts.
For drinking water, the decision trees address quality and availability drivers. The process, as shown in the
figure below is applied to projects, resulting in a decision score and prioritisation of projects. Scores 1 to 5
are deemed to be priority projects that should proceed, subject to scope review and funding availability.
Scores 6 to 8 are lower priority and should be monitored, reconfigured as appropriate and considered for
investment in the following investment period.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Figure 9: Drinking Water Investment Decision Tree.
5.2.3
GROWTH PROJECTIONS / FA CTORS
IW is developing Interim Guidelines for the provision for demand and growth in water treatment and
wastewater treatment projects. Growth factors will be based on interim population projections developed by
the ESRI, 2011 Census figures, CSO reports and realistic inward and inter-regional migration rates and
patterns of a continuing higher than European average birth rate. Growth rates for domestic customers will
be available at overall county-level and for urban areas with populations of 1,500 or more. A percentage of
domestic growth will be allowed for in community, commercial and industrial development.
The percentage growth for industry will be based on the domestic growth rate being applied to the
existing industrial demand, where continuing industrial development is considered realistic. The
requirements of specific industry with significant demands will be considered where there is a realistic
expectation that the development will take place within a 5 year timeframe. Growth projections should not
exceed core strategies identified for the relevant settlement based on current Regional Planning Guidelines,
but will take into account documented evidence of seasonal peak loadings on systems.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
For the duration of the Period, the majority of projects that are at a Pre-Construction Gate will be legacy
projects inherited from the WSIP. As each project moves towards the next WIAC approval gate, IW will
review the original WSIP project scope and growth projections against its own. It is anticipat ed that the
review may enable IW to significantly de-scope some projects and to defer others completely by
implementing lower cost interim measures. All new projects developed by IW will reflect the new growth
model.
5.2.4
A SSUMPTIONS A ND CONSTRA INTS
Projects Committed
The DECLG has made irrevocable commitments to proceed on a number of contracts and projects outside
IW drivers that will be prioritised by IW to ensure that they are completed. These projects will not have been
developed using the same IW investment appraisal approach, however each one was developed by
consultants to deliver a particular outcome in line with growth, quality and environmental drivers of the time.
Consequently, IW consider that the risk that these projects are not investment-worthy is low. One exception
to this is the upgrading of the Ringsend WWTP, which is based on a major 9km long subsea tunnel. The
cost of this project, its risk profile and the limited environmental benefit has prompted a radical review in
order to deliver the required capacity at a markedly lower cost.
Funding Mechanisms
Until its own revenue streams develop with access to capital markets, IW is constrained by the availability of
capital. At present, a capital funding limit has been set for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016. IW understands
that this funding cap will be set at €310m for 2014 and may rise in 2015 and 2016. This limit has to cover
the legacy WSIP programme projects, IW’s capital programme, LA Capital Project office staff and
overheads, IW IT and facilities costs. IW considers that this figure is well below any estimate of needs to
meet the minimum objectives herein such that additional funding is required, as is set out in this proposed
CIP.
Data Gathering
The DECLG has provided high level summaries of the current status of the WSIP and the EPA has provided
information regarding monitoring systems, water and wastewater treatment plants and the RAL.
Fact Finding
IW has been developing this CIP on the basis of publicly and centrally available information. It has also
engaged in direct communications with DECLG, EPA and the LAs to obtain detailed information on existing
asset condition and performance, quality and capacity issues and to carry out business case reviews for the
CIP’s for 2014-2016 and beyond. This process will continue in order to refine the individual project priori ty
levels within the programme.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Current Data Assumptions
It is currently assumed that figures and status of projects on the WSIP are accurate for each project and
that all projects on the Remedial Action List Q3 2013 are active issues until completely removed from the
list. It is also assumed that DECLG data has accurately captured the main drivers of investment from the LA
Assessment of Needs reports, including detailed submissions, strategy reports and preliminary reports. The
most up to date publicly available data for leakage is from 2011. 9
Risks
Unless detailed information, accurate budget updates and funding mechanisms are confirmed and validated
by IW, there is a significant risk to the accuracy and efficacy of this proposed CIP for 2014-2016. IW will
endeavour to mitigate this risk by completing Business Case Reviews across all projects, (except
construction stage projects) as soon as it is in a position to do so. For construction stage projects, a major
due diligence exercise is well advanced and is indicating that budgets to completion are substantially
understated by DECLG figures, resulting in commitments being well in excess of the available capital.
5.2.5
FUNDING A V A ILA BILITY A ND PRIORITISA T IO N
IW recognises that the water industry has a finite level of resources to undertake an investment programme
within the Period. IW is constrained by the capital available to fund the CIP and further constrained by the
expected out-turn cost to completion based on its due diligence. Based on current budget approvals, it will
continue to be limited until the full Asset Management utility model and associated funding streams have
been established. The following sections outline the priorities and investment requirements for Major Water,
Major Waste Water and Minor Capital Programmes. IW considers that these sections make a compelling
case for funding to at least €500m per annum for the medium term.
5. 3
W A TE R TRE A TME NT (A B O V E GROUND A S S E TS )
Providing clean, safe, reliable drinking water is IW’s highest priority. In light of funding limitations over the
coming years, capital investment on water treatment must focus on the opportunities to achieve maximum
value through re-scoping of existing projects, urgent upgrading of existing treatment assets and the efficient
delivery of approved works, required to meet strategic objectives. In terms of water quality, priority is driven
by the requirement to comply with the Drinking Water Regulations. Regulation and policing of the WSA is
carried out by the EPA and therefore, with the passing of the Act, many of IW’s priorities will be directed
towards compliance issues.
IW has used compliance information to prioritise the capital programme. In future, IW will also have access
to operational and asset performance monitoring information that will help to address emerging compliance
issues before they become a major risk or cause harm.
9
Serv ice Indicators in Local Authorities 2011. Eighth Annual Report to the Minister f or the Env ironment, Community and Local Gov ernment by the
Local Gov ernment Management Agency .
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Three categories of tests are conducted by the WSAs to determine the quality of drinking water;
microbiological, chemical and indicator tests. Almost 250,000 monitoring tests are conducted across water
supplies in Ireland each year and the results compared against the limits set out in the Drinking Water
Regulations. Microbiological parameters are the most important, as their presence can indi cate a potential
risk to health. Prolonged exposure to chemical parameters can also pose a potential risk to health. Indicator
parameters are not normally a risk to health, but indicate that investigations are warranted in order to avoid
a potential risk to human health.
Chemical standard compliance in public water supplies slipped from 99.5% in 2011 to 99.3% in 2012.
Trihalomethanes (THMs) compliance deteriorated compared to 2011 and accounted for 68% of all chemical
standard breaches in 2012. Reducing the organic matter in the raw water, optimising treatment to remove
organic matter and minimising chlorination, can all be used to reduce the formation of THMs. Care is
needed, however, not to reduce chlorination to such an extent so as to compromise the microbial safety of
drinking water.
According to the EPA, drinking water quality in public water supplies continued to improve in 2012 although,
“the ability of public supplies to maintain supply quality during adverse weather events was severely tested
in 2012”. E. coli compliance in Public Water Supplies also continues to improve. Since 2005 there has been
a 92% reduction in the number of public water supplies reporting E. coli exceedances . Trihalomethanes
compliance in public water supplies declined from 89.1% in 2011 to 85.1% in 2012. The decrease is likely
due to the poor weather conditions that prevailed in the summer of 2012 and the inability of some treatment
plants to adequately cope with a variation in raw water quality. Since 2008, WSAs have completed remedial
actions on 70% (237) of supplies from the original EPA RAL.
The figure below illustrates the increasing level of microbiological compliance in Public Water Supplies,
which is a credit to the level of investment delivered through the WSIP and Rural Water Programmes over
the past few years.
Figure 10: Number of Public Water Supplies in which E.Coli was detected at least once
47 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
The RAL developed by the EPA is a list of public water supplies where treated water does not meet the
drinking water standards, where replacement or upgrades to treatment or supply assets are needed or
where operational practises should be improved. This list represents the assets with greatest risk of causing
a drinking water incident and therefore those presenting the greatest risk to public health.
Figure 11: Progress made in reducing the number of supplies on RAL.
The primary issues addressed by the RAL include disinfection for E. coli, Cryptosporidium barriers,
adequate treatment for Trihalomethanes and operational controls for managing aluminium and turbidity
levels.
5.3.1
WA TER CA PA CITY
Some €4.6bn in Exchequer resources have been invested in water services over the past decade. This has
included €3.7bn under the multi-annual WSIPs which, allied with a €900m spend from WSAs own
resources, facilitated the completion of some 480 major water and wastewater public schemes over the
period 2000- 2009. As a result, treatment capacity for drinking water has increased by a level equivalent to
the needs of a population of 855,000 (i.e. 214 million litres per day) and storage capacity has increased by
a level equivalent to the needs of a population of 1,510,000. 10
5.3.2
PRIORIT ISA T IO N
IW has developed the priorities identified by existing stakeholders (LAs, DECLG and EPA) in working
towards its strategic objective - to deliver a reliable supply of safe, clean drinking water. Water Safety Plans
(WSPs) currently being promoted by the EPA and considered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as
the most effective means of maintaining a safe supply of drinking water to the public will be developed to
profile and manage risks. IW will initially advance WSPs for the larger WSZs and gradually extend their
application across all supplies.
10
Water Serv ices Inv estment Programme 2010-2012 Report, published by DECLG.
48 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
The performance and risk of failure of individual assets will be assessed in terms of the impact it will have
on delivering defined service standards set out by the economic and environmental regulators. This
systematic approach will allow IW to formulate targeted investment plans for replacing or refurbishing
assets at the most appropriate time.
IW has appointed a dedicated Programme Manager to oversee urgent measures to reduce and eliminate as
far as practicable issues giving rise to “Boil Water Notices”, for schemes in County Roscommon. Their brief
will include reviewing operational practices in these areas and ensuring that the agreed measures are
delivered as an urgent priority, with monthly reporting to the Irish Water Management Team (IWMT). The
role will quantify the number of consumers on such schemes at the time of asset transfer and develop a
plan and programme for their reduction as rapidly as possible.
5.3.3
PROPOSA LS A ND LEV ELS OF EXPENDITURE
There are currently 33 projects worth an estimated €89m (excluding water conservation) at Construction
Stage in the WSIP 2010-2012. These projects address a number of business drivers, primarily drinking
water quality and drinking water availability. Projects at earlier stages in the WSIP 2010-2012 are being
assessed in terms of key outputs that can be delivered, e.g. reduction or removal of risk, the criticality of
supply and the potential return on investment of the project. Prioritisation of projects is carried out using the
methodology outlined above in section 5.2.2.
The level of risk is determined by first assessing water treatment projects under quality standards against
the schemes that are currently deemed to be non-compliant by the EPA. New priorities have also been
identified, such as risk studies to determine the current resilience of key water treatment and supply assets,
the development of WSPs and investment in addressing health and safety issues. All projects currently
prioritised will be subject to a business case review during 2014 to establish existing issues and budgets
and to identify the scope for re-scoping, de-scoping and short-term interim measures where appropriate to
defer large scale capital investment. This, it is considered, will save money for the water services customer.
A key focus is to commit to delivering approved schemes, within each investment cycle, as quickly as
possible, where they are managed within the available budgets and without delay. The total funding
requirement for this section is included in the summary table under “Major Capital - Water”. The full list of
prioritised water assets projects can be viewed in the Appendices, attached as part of this submission.
5. 4
W A TE R NE TW ORK S (B E LO W GROUND A S S E TS )
The key issues for below ground water assets are primarily : high levels of leakage across the country
putting a strain on finite raw water sources, reducing the availability of drinking water, increasing variable
costs such as energy and chemicals and in certain cases, affecting plant performance where demand for
water exceeds the production capacity of the water treatment plant. The levels of progress in establishing
water conservation infrastructure vary from county to county. Some LAs are still completing the installation
of meters, valves and telemetry to establish district metered areas and so as to determine levels of leakage
in their own authority region and WSZ.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Where DMAs have been established, the current calculation of leakage levels varies , as domestic demand
is currently estimated by LAs. A common methodology for determining level of leakage is not used by all
counties. Furthermore, there is no confirmed baseline for leakage levels across the country. A consistent
and robust measurement of UFW across all WSZs is required in order to determine the scale of the issue
and quantify the savings that IW can target and achieve. It is envisaged that IW will need immediate
investment to establish systems and infrastructure to accurately assess leakage levels across all WSZs.
This has been reflected in the prioritisation of projects, where basic leakage measurement infrastructure is
not in place.
The current water conservation programme is funding a significant amount of water main replacement. IW
will introduce an Asset Management approach to below ground assets and will rebalance funding between
the four pillars of leakage management (active leakage control, speed and quality of repairs, pressure
management and water main rehabilitation). In addition, where below ground assets do not provide an
adequate capacity of water to supply areas, they will need to be replaced to ensure security of supply.
Private side leakage is a significant component of unaccounted for water levels in below ground assets . IW
considers that it will become a high profile issue when the Metering Programme completes the installation of
domestic meters and IW begins to charge domestic users for water. IW recognise that major benefits can
be derived from a Customer “First Fix” policy, where IW agree to repair leaks reported following meter
installation in the customer’s property. Meter surveys to date show 5-6% of properties with significant flows,
over double average normal use. There is real evidence that such a policy will deliver valuable benefits in
saving critical water resources in the short term and money for water service customers in both the short
and long-term. IW assumes separate Exchequer funding for this programme, which is estimated to cost
€50m in the Period.
The parametric value for lead levels in treated water reduced to 10µg/l in December 2013. According to
‘The Provision and Quality of Drinking Water in Ireland’, 11 38 WSZs did not comply with the new lower
standard. Reduction of lead can be achieved by a reduction of plumbosolvency through pH correction or by
the removal of lead distribution and service connections in below ground water networks . The EPA Report
2011 stated that there was approximately 4km of lead distribution mains remaining in networks across the
country, which must be removed. In addition, it is estimated that up to 11% of all service connections could
be composed of lead. This would mean there is a possibility that up t o 176,000 lead connections existing
the below ground assets water networks. IW considers that a lead strategy must be developed to address
this issue.
Additional issues such as backyard and shared water services, which can be a particularly complicated
issue to resolve, will also need to be addressed. These services will need to be located and assessed for
condition and performance levels. Based on the outcome of these studies and surveys a strategy will be put
in place to address these services. The category of shared service pipe is a particular priority, being
typically of lead, located in private rear gardens, vulnerable to covering in under building extensions and to
leakage from gardening activities, being inaccessible for repairs , while compromising service to multiple
11
The Provision and Quality of Drinking Water in Ireland, 2011, published by EPA.
50 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
consumers and making metering impossible. It is suggested that this category would be targeted for earliest
resolution. Costs are considerable, estimated at €1,500-€2,000 per property, with the requirement of a new
main in the public road and moled or plumbed services to the rear of the property, in each case. The work in
private property is also dependent on householder agreement as regards the works and remediation, as
well as final connection to internal plumbing.
Drinking Water Availability is another key driver under below ground assets which provide a critical supply
of water, such as the Callow Hill Tunnel in Dublin. This asset has been in place for 150 years and the risk of
structural failure of the tunnel is a serious concern. This asset is currently on the RAL as a drinking water
quality risk due to infiltration and risk of collapse. If the tunnel were to fail, the availability of water to the
GDA would be severely affected and parts of the region, including North County Wicklow, would have no
water supply. Critical Assets and the limited headroom in Dublin will be addressed through a separate
strategy for Network Management and Water Conservation. The study will examine the whole Dublin
catchment area in terms of supply and demand balance across multiple LA boundaries to establish the
most appropriate strategy.
The supply crisis in Q4 2013, due to issues in the main treatment plant at Ballymore Eustace, underlined
the lack of resilience in this supply, serving over 1.25m people and a large part of the commercial and
industrial enterprise of the country. As a result, IW has commenced preparatory work to develop an urgent
plan for the GDA water supply to determine the short and medium term priorities, in advance of a new major
supply source for the region expected in 7-10 years. This reflects the need to cater for new demands from
resumed economic growth without compromising current water service customers. This plan will focus on
best use of the following measures:

Review of leakage control strategies across the region and consideration of a programme of activity
to limit losses in distribution to 25% within 5 years ;

Optimising production across the region’s plants (Vartry, Liffey, Dodder, Barrow) including
measures (operational and capital) to increase production resilience;

Distribution network modelling and consideration of network reinforcement (trunk mains) to ensure
effective utilisation of water produced across the region regardless of source plant ; and

Driving customer side leakage reduction, using the new meter asset base, together with public
engagement on the minimisation of consumption.
5.4.1
PROGRESS TO DA TE
A National Water Conservation Programme was undertaken by the DECLG over the last 7 years, with
€130m invested to develop network management and leakage control capability across the LAs. €321m
was allocated in the WSIP 2010-2012 (as amended) to replace some 640km of the network (approximately
1.3% of total network length) and target existing public lead services to meet the new 2013 lead standard.
Despite the expenditure to date, the levels of leakage remain high nationally and the challenge for IW will
be to focus the capital investment based on reliable asset performance information. IW is now undertaking
a review of the expenditure to date compared to the original allocation and the results achieved in terms of
51 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
leakage reduction. It is worth noting that the allocation of €321m represents a network renewal rate of 1.3%,
which falls well short of the investment required to improve and maintain the asset base in the long term.
5.4.2
PRIORIT ISA T IO N
The current methodology for ranking pipelines for rehabilitation or replacement is comprehensive and uses
condition, performance and criticality factors to further rate projects. This ranking approach will be retained
by IW and additional criteria will be included to maximize return on investment for the water service
customer. Proposed additions to the ranking criteria will include production cost of water, criticality of
providing the supply depending on demand needs of users and commercial customers.
Investment will be balanced between leakage management, rehabilitation and replacement of water mains.
A full review of proposed rehabilitation works will be carried out, driving efficienc y and higher performance
levels from existing assets and postponing capital investment where feasible and safe to do so. This
approach will prioritise mains rehabilitation where demand savings give the greatest return and will seek to
integrate all leakage reduction measures (find and fix, pressure management) with targeted mains
replacement.
The concept of economic levels of leakage will be applied and it is assumed that the CER will approve
leakage targets for IW to achieve as part of its KPIs. Programmes of works will be coordinated on a regional
level, in order to best utilise limited resources, drive efficiencies and maximize return on investment across
the country. This approach will develop contract strategies and work scopes which will maximise
sustainable leakage reduction, incentivise contractors to deliver on the most effective measures and
integrate this with the operational investment in leakage control. This may involve inclusion of leakage
reduction in the outsourced contracts or where LA Operations Teams are delivering the leakage control
function, ensuring an integrated approach between the operational and capital elements.
The decision tree for water conservation prioritises projects that deliver fundamental flow monitoring and
data gathering infrastructure. Projects where the supply / demand balance is currently a critical risk factor
are prioritised next, as per the figure below.
52 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Figure 12: Decision tree - Ranking of water conservation projects in WSIP 2010-2012 (as amended) and new IW
programmes of works.
5.4.3
PROPOSA LS A ND LEV ELS OF EXPENDITURE
IW will move towards a steady state of investment in the rehabilitation of the water network . This will target
a percentage of the below ground assets, depending on the funding available and the meeting of IW’s
WIAC requirements. To optimise returns, this investment will, in the early stages, be targeted in parallel with
intensive leak reduction for sustainable water savings. Investment will be required for active leakage control
and pressure management works in order to rebalance the leakage management pillars.
An immediate focus will be placed on WSZs where leakage reduction defers capital investment (thereby
saving money for the water services customer) and improves plant performance. An investment will also be
required in the procurement of a nationwide telemetry system, in order to gain full visibility of the network
and target the highest levels of leakage across the country. This will seek to integrate, in the first instance,
the many local systems in place, with a central control centre providing a high level of monitoring, in support
of the programme delivery.
The total funding requirement for this section is included in the summary table under “Major Capital – Water
Conservation”.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
5. 5
5.5.1
W A S TE W A TE R TRE A TME NT (A B OV E GROUND A S S E TS )
KEY ISSUES
IW is faced with a major challenge in meeting EU and national environmental obligations and will be
exposed to the on-going risk of prosecution for non-compliance with the requirements of EPA Waste Water
Discharge Licences. Unless carefully managed, this regulatory uncertainty will interfere with the ability of IW
to operate in a financially stable environment. It will also restrict its ability to plan and manage investments
in the best interest of its customers and overall regulatory and environmental obligations:

EU Commission Report on the Implementation of the UWWTD12 reports poor performance by
Ireland in meeting the Directive requirements;

There is a current EU Prosecution Case 13 which claims that Ireland has failed to provide the
required level of secondary treatment in the case of 59 larger urban agglomerations and that the
requirement to provide more stringent treatment has not been met for 28 agglomerations. The
Commission has also sought clarification in relation to 14 agglomerations where it believes
additional infrastructural investment is needed to bring urban waste water collection systems into
compliance with the Directive; and

The most recent EPA report on the implementation of the UWWTD14 indicates that 30% of the 165
larger urban agglomerations in the country did not comply with UWWTD effluent quality and/or
sampling standards for secondary treatment in 2011. The 165 larger agglomerations account for
over 92% of the national waste water load. A higher rate of non-compliance arises (36% of urban
areas), when all 438 urban areas with secondary treatment are assessed against the UWWTD
standards (these standards were used by EPA as a guide for assessing compliance but are not
mandatory for the smaller agglomerations 15).
More recently the EPA identified seven agglomerations 16 as ‘national priorities’ for enforcement action.
These were prioritised because they failed to comply with deadlines / requirements laid down in EPA waste
water discharge licences. The EPA Board has approved prosecution in two of these cases, i.e. Bundoran
and Clifden, and is keeping the other agglomerations on the list ‘under review’. It is to be expected that the
EPA will add to the priority list and that future prosecutions will follow, driven (in part) by EU concerns 17 that
12
Report f rom the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of
the Regions: Seventh Report on the Implementation of the Urban Waste water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC), Brussels 7 August 2013
13
Case 4058.12.ENVI
14
The second Update Report on data presented in the EPA Report Focus on Urban Waste Water Discharges in Ireland, Urban Waste Water
Treatment in 2011
15
‘Appropriate treatment’ is required f or discharges f rom agglomerations less than 2,000 PE to f reshwaters and estuaries, and f or discharges
f rom agglomerations less than 10,000 PE to coastal waters
16
Bundoran, Midleton, Clif den, Cork City , Letterkenny , Balbriggan, Dublin City (Ringsend)
17
Pilot Inf ringement Case 4058.12.ENVI
54 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
treatment plants operating in breach of the requirements of the UWWTD and/or EPA licence conditions are
not being followed up with appropriate enforcement action.
5. 6
RIV E R B A S IN MA NA GE ME NT P LA NS A ND URB A N W A S TE W A TE R TRE A TM E NT
LICE NS ING
The RBMP process is the main tool for the co-ordination and setting of water quality targets and for
agreeing the programmes of measures (e.g. improvements in urban waste water management
performance) needed to deliver the agreed water quality targets. The aim of the WFD is to achieve ‘good
status’ for all waters by 2015. However the Directive accepts that this may not be possible in all cases and
allows for the phasing of objectives (up to 2027 in some cases), provided the phasing is undertaken on the
basis of appropriate and transparent criteria18 and that any time extensions beyond the 2015 deadline are
explained and justified in river basin management plans.
The UWWTD is one of a number of basic measures that must be implemented as part of an overall WFD
programme of measures. The UWWTD was required to be fully implemented in Ireland by December 2005.
Notwithstanding the major capital investment that has taken place over the past decade there remain a
significant number of waste water treatment plants where the level of treatment is not in complianc e with the
UWWTD requirements, or with discharge licences issued by EPA. Furthermore, more stringent emission
limit values for urban waste water discharges are required in many cases to meet the water quality
objectives of the WFD. At least 40% of the 226 licences issued by EPA to-date are significantly more
demanding than the standards required by the UWWTD. However, such stringent requirements for urban
waste water discharges will not always deliver a tangible environmental outcome (i.e. a water quality
improvement) unless complimentary supplementary measures are implemented by other sectors at the
same time.
The 2009-2015 RBMP set ambitious targets for water quality improvement which depended inter alia on
delivering significant programmes of improvement in urban waste water infrastructure. These targets have
already fallen by the wayside and will not be achieved in the current economic climate. The EPA, as
required by regulation, continues to issue waste water discharge licences on the basis of the programmes
of measures and water quality improvements foreseen in the 2009-2015 RBMPs. This approach is giving
rise to environmental demands that cannot be met by IW due to funding limitations, and will ultimately result
in more and more agglomerations being in breach of licence conditions.
The next set of RBMPs will cover the period 2016-2021 and will largely coincide with the first full economic
regulatory cycle. It will be essential to ensure that the preparation of the next set of RBMPs is undertaken in
a way that enables IW prioritise capital investment delivery to optimise the meeting of environmental
obligations under EU Directives. It should also enable IW to operate in a financially stable environment
within the constraints set by the CER and available funding. Whilst responsibility for preparing RBMPs will
18
WFD Articles 4(4) to 4(9): Exemptions would generally need to be justif ied on the basis of technical f easibility or disproportionate cost; howev er,
many Member States hold the v iew that constraints on the public budget can be used as a reason f or extending deadlines (W ater Directors, Brdo
16-17 June 2008)
55 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
not rest directly with IW, IW will need to be an influential player in the river basin management planning
process to ensure that measures required of water services infrastructure to meet the environmental
objectives established for the RBMP 2016-2021 are achievable. These measures must also give the best
return on investment in terms of customer, regulatory and environmental benefit. The next set of RBMPs will
need to review the feasibility and timeline of achieving the current level of environmental ambition, to
prioritise water quality goals and to phase the achievement of environmental objectives and programmes of
measures over a timeframe that can be realistically achieved in current economic circumstances.
Furthermore, IW will need to work with the EPA on an approach to reviewing licensing of urban waste water
treatment agglomerations in order that capital investment can be initially targeted towards the delivery of
priority environmental outcomes, agreed within the framework of the overall river basin management
planning process.
5. 7
URB A N W A S TE W A TE R TRE A TME NT DIRE CTIV E
The UWWTD lays out requirements for sewerage systems to be provided and deadlines for the provision of
waste water treatment. The main requirements of the UWWTD are as follows:

Scheduled provision of waste water collecting systems and treatment plants based on the size of
the agglomeration and the type of water body to which the waste water is discharged (freshwater,
estuarine or coastal, sensitive or non-sensitive); and

Monitoring (including frequency of monitoring) of discharges from waste water treatment plants.
The requirements of the UWWTD (and related Irish Regulations) in respect of the provision of treatment are
summarised in the figure below.
56 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Figure 13: Treatment provision required by the UWWTD.
The UWWTD also sets out criteria for identification of sensitive areas, such as freshwater bodies, estuaries
and coastal waters, which are eutrophic or may become eutrophic if action is not taken. Fifty -one water
bodies are now designated as sensitive in Ireland 19 with a specific level of treatment prescribed for 174
agglomerations.
The 2011 national summary 20 of the effluent quality from all 544 urban areas, that are subject to the waste
water discharge licensing process, is presented in the figure below. A total of 51% of all these urban areas
achieved the Urban Waste Water effluent quality and sampling standards for Biological Oxy gen Demand
(BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS).
19
All the existing sensitiv e areas are identif ied in the Urban Waste Water Treatment (Amendment) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 48/ 2010) with maps
included in the 2010 Regulations showing the location of designated areas.
The Second Update Report on data presented in the EPA Report “Focus on Urban Waste Water Discharges in Ireland”
20
57 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
19%
4%
Achieved all the effluent quality and
sampling standards
51%
Did not achieve the effluent
standards
26%
Did not achieve the effluent
standards solely due to insufficient
effluent sampling
Could not achieve the standards
due to lack of secoundary treatment
Figure 14: 2011 Assessment of 544 No. Discharges against Effluent Standards (BOD, COD, TSS).
5. 8
W A TE R FRA ME W ORK DIRE CTIV E
The core requirements of the WFD were transposed under the Water Policy Regulations (S.I. No. 722 of
2003 as amended). Significant progress has been made in recent years in putting the necessary legislation
in place to support the implementation of River Basin Management Plans and Programmes of Measures in
Ireland. In addition, the Surface Waters Environmental Objectives Regulations (S.I. No. 272 of 2009) and
the Groundwater Environmental Objectives Regulations (S.I. No. 9 of 2010) were made to give effect to the
measures needed to achieve surface water and groundwater environmental objectives established in the
RBMPs.
Other legislation introduced in recent years, gives effect to various measures required by the WFD, these
include:

The Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations (S.I. No. 684 of 2007) establishes an
authorisation system for LA waste water discharges enforced by the EPA;

The Water Services Act (No. 30 of 2007) introduces strategic planning for Water Services
provision, strengthening the administrative arrangements for planning the delivery of Water
Services at national and local level;

The Bathing Water Quality Regulations (S.I. No. 79 of 2008) which transposed the new Bathing
Waters Directive (2006/7/EC) establishes a new classification system for bathing water quali ty
and requires monitoring and management plans to preserve, protect and improve the quality of
bathing waters;

The European Communities Environmental Objectives (Freshwater Pearl Mussel) Regulations
(S.I. No. 296 of 2009) set legally binding objectives for water quality in rivers inhabited by
freshwater pearl mussels and designated Special Areas of Conservation to protect those species;
58 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016

The Quality of Shellfish Waters Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 268 of 2006) set water quality
requirements, providing for the designation of shellfish growing areas. It also provided for the
establishment of Pollution Reduction Programmes for designated waters in order to support
shellfish life and growth;

Amendments to the Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations 2001 (S.I. No. 48 of 2010)
designate an additional 10 areas as Sensitive Areas;

The Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters Regulations (S.I. No. 101 of 2009),
provides statutory support for good agricultural practice to protect waters against pollution from
agricultural sources and include measures aimed at achieving that objective;

The European Communities (Control of Dangerous Substances from Offshore Installations)
Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 358 of 2009) permit the discharges of certain dangerous substances
from offshore installations into the Irish territorial sea; and

The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010, includes important new provisions in
support of the Water Framework Directive. The Act includes a new mandatory objective requiring
LAs to integrate water management with planning policies and objectives in the preparation of
their development plan.
5. 9
LICE NS ING A ND E NFORCE ME NT OF W A S TE W A TE R DIS CHA RGE S
A system for the licensing or certification of waste water discharges from areas served by LA sewer
networks was brought into effect by the Minster for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The
licensing
(agglomerations
>500PE)
and
certification
(agglomerations
<500PE)
authorization
process was introduced on a phased basis from December 2007, in accordance with the requirements
of the Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations, 2007 (S.I. No. 684 of 2007).
The authorisation process provides for the EPA to place conditions on the operation of discharges . It also
allows the EPA to set emission limit values for the discharges to ensure that potential effects on the
receiving water bodies are controlled and monitored as part of the implementation of the WFD. This will help
Ireland moves towards achieving good surface water status and good groundwater status by 2015.
Currently 531 certificates of authorisation have been applied for, with 512 certificates being issued by the
EPA. In addition, 538 licences have been applied for and 224 have been issued. An analysis of the 171
Annual Environmental Reports submitted for 2011 shows that only 24% of WWTPs achieved all of the
effluent quality standards stated within their licences .
Pilot Infringement Case 4058.12.ENVI
In October 2012 the European Commission Directorate General for the Environment notified the Irish
Government that it was in breach of the obligations as set out in Directive 91/271/EEC Articles 3, 4 and 5 .
These articles concern urban waste water treatment, which aims to protect the environment from the
adverse effects of waste water discharges by requiring urban and industrial sectors waste waters to be
collected and treated prior to discharge.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
The Pilot Infringement Case assessed the 2010 data provided by the Government and identified 84
agglomerations which were in breach of the UWWTD. The Irish Government responded in December 2012
detailing the status of the 84 agglomerations.
Status
Number of
Agglomerations
Upgrade completed & fully compliant
20
Now compliant
17
Process improvements have been implemented and now
3
compliant
Process improvements to be implemented
5
Upgrade scheduled
37
Less than 2000PE therefore appropriate treatment required
2
Table 1: Status of Agglomerations on EU Pilot Infringement Case 4058.12.ENVI. as of December 2012
The Urban Waste Water Pilot Infringement Case has been recently escalated to a formal ECJ Case. Arising
from this case agglomerations will be required to undergo upgrades to meet the UWWTD requirements.
Projects will be ranked as a high priority by IW. This will be done so that these projects can be progressed
and delivered within the Period, subject to funding sought on foot of the CIP. Failure to demonstrate to the
EU that actions are being undertaken to meet the obligations may result in legal proceedings and the
imposition of fines on Ireland.
In light of this ECJ case, the need to address non-compliance has become a compelling investment driver
for the Irish Government, as well as for IW. To avoid prosecution a roadmap towards compliance must be
agreed and coordinated by IW, the DECLG, the EPA and the EU Commission to outline information on
plans and programmes, including departures from standards and timetables to rectify non-compliance.
Urban Waste Water Compliance Work Plan
A ‘high-level’ work plan has been prepared to provide a basis for discussions with the EU Commission and
with EPA. The work plan sets out a general approach towards addressing urban waste water treatment
non-compliance and also the IW approach to the next round of RBMPs. It emphasises the need to prioritise
investment with the view to ensuring compliance with the basic requirements of the UWWTD, and the need
to ensure the best environmental outcome from limited available funding.
A key output of the work plan will be a roadmap which would address Ireland’s non-compliance with the
requirements of the UWWTD. The ‘roadmap’ will provide an agreed way forward towards compliance
60 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
between IW and the EPA, and would serve as the basis for a Partnership Implementation Agreement
between Ireland and the EU Commission, requiring agreement between the DECLG, the EU Commission,
the EPA and IW. Resources are required to turn the work plan into a meaningful programme of works. A
number of work streams, involving IW Asset Management and Operations, have been identified in the plan.
These include:

Implementation of the IW approach for dealing with non-compliant waste water treatment plants
through Plant Performance Improvement Programmes and Minor Capital Investment Programmes;

Development and implementation of the IW approach to addressing non-compliant Storm Water
Overflows; and

Implementation of IW Catchment Analytical and Modelling Capabilities to a level which supports
objective evidence based decision making in the licensing of plants, including setting of standards
and the timing of their achievement.
5.9.1
PROGRESS TO DA TE
As noted above, some €4.6bn in Exchequer resources has been invested in the water services sector over
the past decade. This has included €3.7bn under the multi-annual WSIP which, paired with €900m spent
from water services authorities own resources, facilitated the completion of some 480 major water and
waste water public schemes over the period 2000 - 2009. As a result, compliance with the UWWTD on
secondary waste water treatment facilities now stands at some 70% of the larger urban areas. 21 Additional
waste water treatment capacity (equivalent to the needs of a population of 3.6 million) has also been
provided. 22
5.9.2
PRIORIT ISA T IO N
In order to group and prioritise wastewater projects, IW has reviewed the EPA Licence Application data to
determine if existing waste water treatment plants provide the required level of treatment in compliance with
the UWWTD. Those that have the required level of treatment, but do not meet the relevant standards , may
be subject to overloading or other process or plant performance issues. Urban areas that are subject to
EPA Waste Water Discharge Licences have also been assessed, where Annual Environment Reports have
been submitted. The plant performance has been reviewed against the licence requirements and where it is
anticipated that future growth within the agglomeration will exceed the plant .
Detailed decision trees have been developed by IW to determine the prioritisation of waste water projects.
21
Focus on Urban Waste Water Discharges in Ireland, Second Updated Report published by EPA.
22
Water Services Investment Programme 2010-2012 Report, published by DECLG.
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5.9.3
PROPOSA LS A ND LEV ELS OF EXPENDITURE
There are currently 54 waste water projects worth an estimated value of €191m at construction stage under
the current WSIP 2010-2012 (as amended). These projects address a number of business drivers, including
additional levels of treatment (Environmental Compliance) and increased treatment capacity (Waste Water
Availability). The total funding requirement for this section is included in the summary table under “Major
Capital – Waste Water”. The full list of prioritised waste water projects can be seen in the Appendices.
5. 10 W A S TE W A TE R NE TW ORK S (B E LOW GROUND A S S E TS )
5.10.1
KEY ISSUES
The UWWTD, WFD, licensing and discharging of waste water from agglomerations detailed in the WWT
sections are also applicable to waste water networks. Within the agglomerations there are approximately
1,700 Secondary Discharges, Storm Water Overflows 23 on combined systems and Emergency Overflows.
These have the potential to discharge into freshwater, estuarine, or coastal waters during certain operating
conditions/events within the network and potentially impact on water quality.
Another key issue for waste water works is infiltration which can cause many problems, including:

Increased operational and capital costs in the sewer network and at treatment plants;

Reduced sewer and treatment capacity leading to increased operation of combined sewer
overflows, flooding and pollution;

Reduced sewer and treatment capacity restricting future development;

Lowering of groundwater levels leading to detrimental effects on local water resources;

Loss of soil into sewers causing operational problems and structural damage; and

Salinity in coastal areas causing operational problems and reduced asset life.
There is limited literature available relating to infiltration studies or removal programmes in Ireland. Drainage
Area Studies (undertaken as part of the design process for new sewage schemes or to address
deficiencies, such as flooding) have often identified infiltration as a problem and LAs have followed up with
works to locate sources and reduce flows.
The 2001-2004 Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study covered 18 foul/combined sewerage catchments
serving a combined population of 1.4m people. A major programme of flow measurement and sewerage
modelling in these catchments provided an opportunity for an initial assessment of infiltration, albeit on a
‘snapshot’ basis due to the short-term nature of the sewer flow surveys. In the 34,000 population of
Rathmines and Pembroke (low level) catchment “a considerable portion of the Pembroke area lies below
the level of high water spring tide and a large quantity of subsoil water finds its way into the sewers”.
Pumping records at the terminal station suggested that average infiltration was in the order of 80 l/s, or 25%
of total dry weather flow. Other studies in other agglomerations and catchments have infiltration ranges
between 10% and 50%. These inflow rates contribute both to the capacity and operating costs of treatment.
23
Inf ormation obtained f rom EPA Licence Application data. Howev er it is considered that this number is a low estimate and the a ctual number of
ov erf lows exceeds this f igure.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Historically, capacity pressures have been addressed through engineering schemes that provide extra
capacity, but the level of pressure on existing sewers and the development of new techniques are leading to
an evolution in infiltration reduction and rehabilitation programmes, to provide capacity for future
development. In order to implement infiltration reduction programmes further studies, models and long term
flow measurement programmes will be required to understand the current network hydraulic performance in
agglomerations.
The term “exfiltration” is used for water exiting the sewer system into the ground. Exfiltration leaves the
sewer system through openings such as: displaced or open pipe joints, cracks, fractures and break s in the
fabric of the main sewer and its lateral connections, and in manholes and chambers. Exfiltration in sewer
systems can cause many problems, including:

Contamination of surrounding soils;

Pollution of groundwater, aquifers and receiving waters;

Failure of pipelines and structures due to erosion of supports;

Ground subsidence due to erosion of underground soils; and

Ground failure and subsidence is often the result of infiltration/exfiltration cycles, whereby flows
leak in and out of the system, eroding the finer material in the surrounding soils, progressively
reducing support, and eventually causing failure.
There is very limited literature available relating to exfiltration studies or removal programmes in Ireland.
Drainage area studies have identified inflow and infiltration as a problem, but not exfiltration, except where
there are obvious major leakage points revealed by CCTV work. The difficulty in identifying exfiltration is
that any such leakages from damaged systems tend to be masked by the much larger infiltration flows. The
GDSDS experienced this situation whereby infiltration flows were sufficiently large to be quantified, whereas
exfiltration flows could not be identified due to flow monitor tolerances and the wide spread of monitoring
locations.
There are many sources of exfiltration from sewers. Apart from obviously incorrect openings, they are
caused by structural defects including cracks, fractures, joint displacement, deformation, collapse, reverse
gradients and unsealed connections. These defects result from one or more of the following causes:
unsatisfactory construction, third party damage, deterioration of the sewerage fabric and roots which can
cause blockage, structural damage and opening of joints. Damage can also be caused by maintenance of
sewers, particularly from the use of inappropriately high water pressure during jetting. Plastics pipes are
especially vulnerable to this type of damage.
Since exfiltration results in the reduction of flows in the sewerage system, it could be argued that such
leakage actually saves costs of pumping and treatment. However any such “savings” must be offset by
reduction in the working life of the pipeline and environmental damage caused by pollution of groundwater.
Where exfiltration is near a groundwater abstraction source, the risk of contamination can be quantified and
costed. 24 At most locations, contamination of the soils is difficult to measure, let alone undertake a cost benefit analysis. Other effects of exfiltration, such as damage to pipe bedding and loss of support following
24
Reliability of sew ers in environmentally vulnerable areas, CIRIA Project Report 44, 1996.
63 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
infiltration/exfiltration cycles are equally hard to quantify. Nevertheless the adverse effects of contamination
and adverse public relations, damage to buildings, traffic disruption, etc., could be more significant than any
cost-benefit analysis.
The techniques and selection method for removing exfiltration are generally similar to those for infiltration
detailed in the WRC Sewerage Rehabilitation Manual. IW will develop its asset management polices,
including assessment of the condition of its existing sewerage network assets through CCTV surveys , in
accordance with the Manual of Sewer Condition Classification - 4th Edition (January 2004).
Currently in Ireland there is no register of properties that have flooded from surcharging of sewers. IW
intends to create a “Flooding Incident Register”. This register will be similar in principal to OFWAT’s ‘At Risk
Registers’ which records properties that have flooded from sewers and are at risk of flooding again. IW
proposes to have separate registers for internal and external flooding. Similar to UK practice, eac h register
is likely to be split showing the risk of flooding twice in ten years (2:10), once in ten years (1:10) and once in
twenty years (1:20).
IW will develop policy for addressing risk of combined sewer flooding of properties in consultation with CER
and various other stakeholders.
5.10.2
PROGRESS TO DA TE
As a result of large population growth over the last two decades, there has been significant investment in
new wastewater network infrastructure. This investment has facilitated the connection of new developments
into existing networks, the upgrading and replacement of the existing networks to accommodate the
additional flows, and provided for new assets to transfer flows to new/upgraded wastewater treatment
plants. Although investment has been made on the below ground assets there is still a requirement for
considerable investment in the future to replace infrastructure that is at the end of its service life (especially
in the larger cities). Investment is also needed to cater for future development needs and ensure that
properties are not affected by flooding as a result of sewer surcharging.
Within existing agglomerations, there is a requirement to assess the Storm Water and Emergency
Overflows to ensure that they are in compliance with the relevant standards so that WFD ‘good’ quality
status can be achieved. This will require extensive investment in future capital programmes to initially
monitor their current performance and then to implement appropriate solutions.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
5.10.3
FUTURE PRIORITIES
To date IW has very limited information on the networks issues within agglomerations and, current network
projects have been ranked on the waste water treatment plant data using the waste water treatment
decision trees. As IW takes over projects in 2014, all wastewater network projects will be assessed to
extract the network components of the projects and subject them to a separate prioritisation. In large
agglomerations, such as Dublin, individual catchments within the overall agglomeration will also be
assessed in order to prioritise investment.
5. 11 MINOR CA P ITA L P ROJE CTS P ROGRA MME
5.11.1
MINOR CA PITA L PROJECTS & WORKS
Minor Capital Projects are specific projects or programmes aimed at developing and delivering low capital
cost solutions to address quality, statutory and business efficiency deficits, where possible utilising
standardised solution packages. These will be delivered through framework contracts. Each project will
address specific drivers, but additional enhancement works may be incorporated if the benefit meets with
investment approval criteria. For example, a treatment plant upgrade designed to meet discharge consents
may also benefit from a control system upgrade to harness operational efficiencies (energy & chemical
management) and to gather on-going asset performance information.
It is envisaged that by the second Price Control Period, the Minor Capital Programme will evolve as part of
an integrated capex delivery programme focusing on low value, less complex elements of the overall capital
investment programme. The needs for these works are identified from a number of sources that require
optimal design and planning consideration to minimise the costs over the life of the assets.
Minor Projects will be of non-complex design (e.g. like for like replacement), where statutory consents are
not required. An important distinction for budget allocation occurs between Minor Capital Projects and Minor
Capital Works, where Minor Capital Projects are planned and require investment approval prior to
proceeding, whereas Minor Capital Works will be unplanned/reactive types of works and do not require
investment approval. The drivers for the Minor Capital Programme will be in line with those of the Major
Capital Programmes set out previously:
65 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Drinking Water Quality
Drinking Water Av ailability
Env ironmental Compliance
Wastewater Av ailability
Meeting Customer Serv ice Obligations
Business Ef f iciencies
Asset Condition and Perf ormance
Health & Saf ety
Figure 15: IW Investment Drivers.
Aside from the size of each project and the approval process, the major difference between the Major and
Minor programmes is the prioritisation. Minor Capital will not go through the decision tree evaluation
process. Each sub-programme will have a specific aim under the established driver category , e.g. a minor
capital sub-programme will be established to address microbiological contamination under “Drinking Water
Quality” driver. This programme may prioritise RAL locations first and other EPA Notifications and “Boil
Water Notices”, thereafter to ensure that investment is directed to the highest priorities first.
Drinking Water Quality
Remedial Action List
Microbiological
Compliance
EPA Notif ications
Chemical
Compliance
Boil Water Notices
Indicator
Compliance
Figure16: Example of Minor Capital Programme.
The closest predecessor of the IW Minor Capital Programme was the DECLG Rural Water, Small Schemes
Programme. The DECLG cost ceiling on specific projects was €1m and projects were generally submitted in
the preceding year with allocations at end of Q1 and works having to be completed in Q4.
Annual provision over the past few years has been circa €25-€30m, including the provision for RAL work.
Furthermore, asset maintenance was precluded, which has led to Minor Capital Projects being carried out
where asset refurbishment might have been a more appropriate approach.
IW will address the deficiencies in the existing Small Schemes programme by requiring each Minor Capital
Programme to deliver defined benefits and outcomes in line with IW priorities and investment drivers.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Submissions from the LAs, via the IW Operations function, will lead to the delivery of programmes identified
by IW in the most appropriate sequence, with the most appropriate solutions.
The following is indicative of IW’s proposed Minor Capital Programme for 2014 (subject to funding), the
contents of which are expanded upon in the next sections :
Driver
Programme
Amount €s
Water Quality
Reservoir Refurbishment Programme Scoping and Pilot Study
500,000
Water Quality
Process Optimisation and Control programme
800,000
Water Quality
Filter and Coagulation Programme
1,000,000
Water Quality
Disinfection Programme
250,000
Water Quality
Unidirectional Scour facilitation Programme
200,000
Water Quality
Plant Refurbishment Programme
3,000,000
Water Quality
RAL programme Works
7,000,000
Water Quality
Source Protection Measures
450,000
Pressure management Programme
500,000
DMA Programme
500,000
Small Mains rehabilitation
800,000
Flow monitoring and Sampling Programme
2,000,000
Water
Availability
Water
Availability
Water
Availability
Environmental
Compliance
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Environmental
Compliance
Process Optimisation programme
500,000
Inlet works Programme
2,000,000
Quick win programme
3,000,000
Small Plant Improvement Programme
1,750,000
ECJ Projects
1,200,000
Nutrient Programme
300,000
Network Flow monitoring & Rehabilitation Programme
1,500,000
Network Survey Programme
500,000
Pump Station Upgrades
1,000,000
Energy efficiencies programme
2,000,000
Sludge Programme
250,000
Critical asset Programme
4,000,000
Environmental
Compliance
Environmental
Compliance
Environmental
Compliance
Environmental
Compliance
Environmental
Compliance
Wastewater
Availability
Wastewater
Availability
Wastewater
Availability
Business
efficiencies
Business
efficiencies
Asset Condition
and
performance
Total
35,000,000
Table 2: IW Minor Capital Programme.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
5. 12 DRINK ING W A TE R P ROGRA MME
The Water Supply Minor Capital Programme work plan for 2014-2016 comprises of two major work
streams:
1.
Programmes of targeted Minor Capital Works will be prepared to address known asset deficiencies
to deliver improvements in H&S, Quality/Compliance, Reliability, Maintainability, OPEX and
Sustainability. This will ultimately lead to standardisation and best practice. Initial waves will focus
primarily on compliance, but will aim to deliver secondary benefits as part of the solution.
2.
In parallel with the other the work streams, programmes will target asset data capture, particularly
for critical assets. The purpose of the programme will be to accelerate data capture and asset
performance information gathering during the interim Price Control Period. This will be done so that
critical information is available to inform decisions and strategies for subsequent investment
periods; information capture will also be required for regulatory reporting.
Reservoir Refurbishment Programme Scoping and Pilot Study
The majority of Irish reservoirs have not been inspected or cleaned since construction. From an asset
management perspective, inspections are essential to establish the asset condition and focus capital and
operational expenditure appropriately. From a water perspective, poor asset condition (e.g. leakage,
structural integrity etc.) presents a risk of contamination to water quality and could result in availability
issues if the assets fail.
This programme is aimed at establishing an on-going programme of regular reservoir inspections and
refurbishment works. It will determine the issues and value options available to IW to manage its reservoir
assets. It is planned to deliver the programme utilising consultants and contractors from IW’s procurement
frameworks.
5.12.1
PROCESS OPTIMISA T IO N A ND CONTROL PROGRA MME
Due to the ad-hoc nature of funding and the variety of solutions implemented by LAs, even basic process
control is lacking at many water treatment plants and consequently, many quality failures occur due to
operator and process control problems. In addition to the quality failures, poor process control impacts
negatively on the operational expenditure through leakage (over pressure), chemical usage and energy
consumption.
Through pilot projects, this programme will examine the opportunity for improving process control at water
treatment plants and booster stations to develop a suite of solutions that can be replicated nationally to
improve quality and reduce operations costs. As discussed, it is planned to deliver the programme utilising
consultants and contractors from IW’s procurement frameworks. The programme will also start to deliver the
instrumentation for IW to be able to track and manage asset performance, as well as gathering information
required by the EPA and CER.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
A further element of this programme is an alarm and control element , primarily aimed at ensuring that
failure of any critical process will activate appropriate level of alarm on response. Failure of critical
processes, such as disinfection or the detection of high ammonia levels, indicative of gross pollution of raw
water, will lead to automatic shutdown of plant and the initiation of an appropriate operational response.
Development of systems will be such that they will be compatible with IW SCADA strategy.
5.12.2
FILTER A ND COA GULA TION PROGRA MME
The operation of filtration and coagulation processes significantly impacts on water quality and in particular
the removal of biological and physical contaminants. Optimisation of operation improves overall
performance, greatly reduces risk, as well as leading to a reduction in chemical usage and wastage of
water.
Many existing units are in poor condition due to age and lack of investment. This programme is aimed at
refurbishing existing systems including the incorporation of more recent best practice to optimise wash
cycles performance, chemical pre-treatment and settlement processes. Automation of wash cycles will
optimise throughput, whilst linkage to colour and turbidity monitoring will optimise treatment performance.
IW’s approach will be to have a number of plants assessed and to develop a set of standard control and
process solutions which will be implemented, monitored and optimised. Thereafter, the programme will be
rolled out to other plants.
5.12.3
DISINFECT ION PROGRA MME
This programme will address the Non-WSIP WSZs that do not comply with disinfection requirements, e.g.
they have reported or currently have on-going microbiological contamination issues. The first priority will be
to address the RAL sites and secondly, sites under EPA directions or restrictions relating to microbiological
contamination. The programme will include an initial investigation of each site by consultants, asset
information gathering, and scoping of the works to be carried out to achieve quality compliance. The short
term options will include the use of standard disinfection and control solutions .
The programme will start to deliver the instrumentation to allow IW to track and manage asset performance,
as well as gathering information required by the EPA and CER. As mentioned previously, IW has appointed
a Programme Manager to drive resolution of conditions giving rise to ”Boil Water” notices currently, focused
on both capital and operational measures.
5.12.4
UNIDIRECT IO NA L SCOUR FA CILITA TION PROGRA MME
Unidirectional scouring is a relatively new preventative maintenance process for water operation in Ireland.
Well-developed scouring plans can reduce chemical demand, energy consumption, operational water
losses and simultaneously reduce the risk of water quality non-compliance. This programme is aimed at
developing an initial set of scouring regimes in WSZs where sedimentation is known to be an issue. The
programme will be carried out in conjunction with LA and IW regional operations, with support from
framework consultants. Such measures cannot be applied to severely corroded cast iron mains such as
70 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
those typical of centre city networks, because disturbance leads to turbid ‘red’ water for up to 2-3 days
thereafter.
5.12.5
PLA NT REFURBIS HMENT PROGRA MME
The Plant Refurbishment Programme will address requirements identified by LAs that are not covered by
other specific programs. Primary focus will be on asset rehabilitation, improvement or upgrades. Works will
be prioritised on the basis of impact on water quality, water availability, customer service obligations and
business efficiency. IW will focus on identifying assets that act as pinch points in achieving acceptable
quality and levels of service. Projects will be used opportunistically to develop standard specifications and
solutions and will also inform the development of further specific programs.
5.12.6
SOURCE PROTECT IO N MEA SURES
A significant risk exists to water supplies from contamination of surface water and groundwater sources.
Source protection will initially focus on identifying the zones of influence affecting groundwater sources,
repair and protection of wellheads, including barriers to overland flow and groundwater infiltration, where
this impacts adversely on water quality. Where appropriate, investigation of possible arrangements with
stakeholders to alter current land use practices, or carry out works where such actions would lead to
improvement of raw water quality, will take place.
5.12.7
PRESSURE MA NA GEMENT PROGRA MME
The pressure management programme will enable installation and upgrading of pressure management
facilities on the water distribution networks. This will contribute to lowering leakage, addressing excessive
pressure at point of service and reducing overall cost of supplies, as well as extending working life of
pipelines. This programme is considered to have major application in support of sustainable leakage
reduction in older networks.
5.12.8
DISTRICT METERING A REA PROGRA MME
Significant investment has been made in sub dividing water distribution networks into District Metering
Areas (DMAs). This facilitates management of water wastage through enabling more effective monitoring of
water usage and implementation of structured leak detection and repair initiatives. The programme is aimed
at addressing areas where this infrastructure is not in place, where DMAs need to be reconfigured or where
assets such as flow meters, loggers and boundary valves require replacement.
5.12.9
SMA LL MA INS REHA BILITA TION
The programme is aimed at funding low cost replacement or rehabilitation of small diameter water mains.
Funding will be directed towards projects that address the quality of service provided to customers caused
by disruption of supply due to pressure constraints or excessive leakage, and discoloration or other factors
affecting water quality of supply caused by mains deterioration or dead ends.
71 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
5.12.10 WA STE WA TER MINOR CA PITA L PROGRA MME
The wastewater minor capital programme is targeted at underperforming treatment plants and assets with
specific deficiencies, e.g. inadequate flow monitoring or control systems. A strong emphasis is to be placed
on installing infrastructure to permit accurate collection of data to facilitate operational optimisati on of
treatment plants and planning of future asset interventions. A key component of interventions will be the
collection of available data on plant condition and performance and development of a planned programme
for asset rehabilitation and replacement or reinforcement.
When aligned with growth projections and pertinent environmental receptor data, plant condition and
performance data will form the basis of a 10 year plan for the management of the asset . It will feed into
structured programmes for the delivery of identified works in future programmes. The programme will also
include specific initiatives aimed at addressing ECJ listed plants and provision of upgrades at small plants
that have reached end of life or require additional capacity . In both instances IW will seek to develop a
standard solution set to maximise future economies of scale, in both operation and maintenance of these
assets.
A major factor influencing the performance of plants relate to excessive hydraulic loading. To address this
issue, provision has been made for specific programmes for quantification and identification of infiltration
and elimination of same. Initially this pilot programme will be used to develop the tools to effectively tackle
the problem. Significant improvement in plant performance, extension of asset life and energy usage
(associated with pumping) can be garnered if the programme proves successful. Data on network extent
and condition is poor relative to that available for water networks. Funding is being provided to collect and
collate data on condition of sewer networks, primarily focusing on smaller networks.
5.12.11 FLOW MONITORING A ND SA MPLING PROGRA MME
A significant deficit in flow monitoring is evident across treatment facilities, pump stations and storm
overflows. This programme is aimed at providing adequate levels of metering to enable appropriate
assessment of volumes of sewage treated or otherwise discharged from our networks. The initial focus of
investment will be on treatment plants where compliance with UWWTD is impacted on by lack of
appropriate metering infrastructure, and plants that are reported to be operating at or near design capacity.
Load surveys will be carried out in conjunction with installation to ascertain actual loads receiving treatment
at plants.
Funding may also be needed to provide flow monitoring/event recording at overflows that are deemed
critical on the basis of observed spillage history or impacts on receiving waters. Where necessary , process
critical metering will also be installed (e.g. WAS/RAS) to enable optimisation of plant operation.
5.12.12 PROCESS OPTIMISA T IO N PROGRA MME
This programme will fund the installation and upgrading of basic control processes and is aimed at
optimising plant performance and recording asset data. Through pilot projects, this programme will examine
the opportunity for improving process control at waste water treatment plants and pump stations to develop
72 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
a suite of solutions that can be replicated nationally, to improve quality of treatment and reduce operations
costs. The programme will be delivered by utilising consultants and contractors from IW procurement
frameworks. The programme will also start to deliver the instrumentation to allow IW to track and manage
asset performance, as well as gathering information required by the EPA and CER.
An immediate priority is to establish a Waste Discharge to Sewer (section 16 license) Programme across
the country, modelled on the successful programme operated in Dublin City and South Dublin County. This
programme will control both discharge load and problematic "Fats Oil & Greases" discharges, leading to
reduced operational maintenance and reduced cost of treatment. Such a programme is likely to be selffunding through license charges and once established it will give rise to operating cost savings. However, to
begin with, it needs a Project Team, within Asset Management, to develop the methodology for effective
national implementation.
5.12.13 INLET WORKS PROGRA MM E
This programme will install mechanical screens at waste water treatment plants that currently have
inadequate screening. Manually raked bar-screens are still commonplace and require more frequent on-site
presence. This leads to higher operational costs, more frequent discharges from upstream CSOs. It also
impacts on the performance of plants, where unscreened waste water enters the treatment process and
reduces the hydraulic capacity over time, as well as causing wear and tear on pumps etc., that require a
higher level of reactive maintenance.
5.12.14 QUICK WIN PROGRA MME
The quick win programme is targeted at specific plant problems that are not overloaded, but nevertheless
fail to meet basic compliance targets set by the EPA. A holistic approach to developing a solution is to be
adopted combining an operational review, asset assessment and the development of a structured
programme of interventions. This will be aimed initially at addressing compliance issues and thereafter
developing a planned programme for asset refurbishment and replacement based on comprehensive asset
survey. The focus will be on use of low cost interventions, coupled with operational modifications to ensure
compliance.
5.12.15 SMA LL PLA NT IMPROV EM ENT PROGRA MME
The small plant improvement programme is aimed primarily at the upgrading of existing plants with capacity
of less than 1000 PE. This will be achieved by comprehensive refurbishment programs, where appropriate,
and the installation of upstream or downstream units to enhance performance, such as primary settlement
tanks, upgraded clarifiers or sludge holding tanks. Installation of replacement or additional package plants
where existing units are at end of life, or where loading is in excess of plant capacity, will also be funded.
Priority will be given to plants on basis of impact and classification of receiving waters and the extent to
which they are overloaded.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
5.12.16 ECJ PROJECTS
Funding sought will be utilised to address a number of schemes that are subject of Pilot Infringement Case
4058.12ENVI where small scale interventions have been identified as having potential to mitigate impacts of
plants on receiving waters.
5.12.17 NUTRIENT MA NA GEMENT PROGRA MME
A nutrient management programme will provide funding for installation of standardised ferric dosing
packages at plants where Waste Water Discharge Licences require phosphorous reduction. Prioritisation
will be based on evidence of phosphorus related deterioration in receiving water.
5.12.18 NETWORK SURV EY PROGRA MME
As noted previously, a significant shortfall exists in reliable information on both the extent and condition of
sewerage networks. The programme will initially focus on defining the extent of networks and thereafter
mapping of assets (manholes) and condition assessments. Substantial housing development over the last
decade has considerably increased the extent of drainage networks and whilst many developments have
not as yet been adopted formally, they service our customers, contribute to loading, and are potentially a
significant liability to IW if in any way deficient. They also delineate the appropriate Agglomeration area to
be referenced in licensing applications.
5.12.19 NETWORK FLOW MONITOR ING A ND REHA BILITA TIO N PROGRA MME
Flow monitoring programmes will provide for the carrying out of flow surveys in a number of networks. Data
collected will be utilised to establish both the nature and extent of infiltration into networks (base and inflow).
Initial surveys will be used to attempt to ascertain the extent of the infiltration issues and to develop a
systematic methodology to assess and quantify infiltration issues. Of particular concern are networks where
significant base flows exist through which groundwater, or sea water infiltration, have potential adverse
impact on network capacity, pumping costs and treatment efficacy.
Based on flow surveys and follow up CCTV investigations a programme of repairs , focusing on manholes
and a suite of available renovation techniques for pipelines , will be utilised. The programme will review the
efficacy of various works undertaken and attempt to generate cost benefit criteria for evaluation of further
works proposals. The extent to which infiltration arises from laterals will also be evaluated and will inform
development of policy in relation to dealing with same.
5.12.20 PUMP STA TION UPGRA DES
A significant number of pump stations are deficient, leading to intermittent discharges of sewage through
emergency overflows. In some instances newer pump sets are oversized leading to operational impacts on
treatment plants and inefficient energy usage. Many are prone to regular blockages incurring high call out
and maintenance costs. Issues also arise with regard to lack of flow measurement, high energy usage,
inappropriate pipework design and valving unsafe electrical panelling, emergency storage and telemetry.
74 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
This programme will holistically examine pump stations with a view to optimising energy, maintenance and
attendance requirement, whilst minimising potential discharges to the environment. Priority will be given to
stations that discharge to designated or sensitive waters , with a demonstrably high operation and
maintenance cost and a record of overflow events and blockages. Feedback from initial projects will be
utilised to inform standard specification for future works, leading to development of standard specifications
and designs.
5.12.21 ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRA MME
The energy efficiency programme recognises IW’s commitment to sustainability principles, while reducing
operating costs within a target payback period on capital. This programme will initially focus on high energy
usage sites and will run in parallel with an operations driven focus on power factor and tariff optimisation.
Primary areas of investment will be driven by the energy management principles of ISO50001 and will focus
initially on Significant Energy Users (SEUs), such as high lift pumping arrangements and energy efficient
aeration systems. Investment will be based on payback period.
5.12.22 SLUDGE PROGRA MME
This programme will support the provision of onsite sludge storage facilities incorporating capacity to
thicken sludge. Two significant benefits arise from this strategy, firstly a reduction in transportation costs
and secondly, provision of additional capacity in reactor units and improved control of sludge age and plant
performance. Priority will initially be given to larger plants that are located at distance from sludge hubs.
5.12.23 CRITICA L A SSET PROGRA MME
Potential failure of critical assets could have a significant impact on services to water service customers.
Based on experience and discussions with LA staff, a lack of investment in capital replacement has resulted
in significant dilapidation of some critical above ground assets which, were they to fail, could significantly
impact on availability of services, public health or the environment. It is recognised that in the short-term it
will not be possible to carry out a standardised condition/performance evaluation of all critical above ground
assets. Furthermore, it is unlikely that identification and evaluation of below ground assets, in particular
sewers, could be carried out at reasonable cost with any degree of confidence due to limited data on
condition being available.
In order to both mitigate risk and develop realistic investment programmes, IW need to document the issues
relating to critical assets and in particular some sense of condition and performance of same. This
programme will:

Identify critical assets that are perceived to pose risk to service based on operational records ;

Carry out simple assessment of assets based on provided template to quantify risk;

Establish indicative cost for the replacement of assets, evaluate operational cost impacts and
identify solution options;

Develop preliminary investment projections (based age of plant, plant type, plant size profile data
and solution sets); and
75 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016

Fund the replacement of assets as justified on a risk basis.
5. 13 P ROGRA MME K E Y S TUDIE S
IW will need to progress a number of key studies during the Period in order to develop the Asset
Management basis for the business, to ensure a clear strategic direction for capital investment, to provide
best value for water service customers and to deliver sustainable and incremental environmental
improvements.
The following studies will take place within the Period. An indicative completion date is provided, together
with an estimated cost for external resources in the table below.
Study
Completion
Water Services Strategic Plan (WSSP)
2014
Included in OPEX Budget
2014
Included in OPEX Budget
2015
€600,000
€400,000
2015
€250,000
€150,000
2015
€100,000
€100,000
2016
Included in OPEX Budget
2016
€1,895,100
2016
Included in OPEX Budget
Innovation Studies
2016
€50,000
Strategy for Drinking Water Compliance – THM’s
2016
National Sludge Management Plan (incl. SEA)
2015
Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for
WSSP
National Water Resource Management Plan (incl.
SEA)
Region Based Plans for Leakage Reduction in
Water Networks
Strategy for Drinking Water Compliance – Lead
Critical
Assets
Studies
and
Asset
Data
Aggregation
Urban Waste Water Compliance Strategy
Preparation of Asset Strategies, Policies and
Standard Designs
Region Based Plans for Leakage Reduction &
Renewal in Wastewater Networks
Climate Mitigation & Adaptation Strategy
76 | Irish Water
2016
2015
2014
€100,000
2015
€2,978,100
2016
€541,440
€100,000
€100,000
€100,000
€100,000
€300,000
€150,000
Included in OPEX Budget
€50,000
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Water Safety Plans
2017
Included in OPEX Budget
National Section 16 Licencing Project
2016
Included in OPEX Budget
€2,995,100
Total
€4,278,100
€791,440
Table 3: Key Studies during the 2014-2016 period.
The National Water Resources Management Plan will address the drinking water supply demand balance
over a 25 year time period. This will include the assessment of a robust planning growth scenario for the
medium term up to 2021, together with high, medium and low growth scenarios for long term planning of
strategic infrastructure. This will be essential for IW to begin planning the requirements of the first full
regulatory period.
The Asset Management capability, and value, in IW will develop over time as more and more asset data is
captured in the system, via capital and maintenance projects. A key challenge for the Period is to capture
and compile the existing asset data; for example capturing all below ground assets and to survey and
record the data on GIS. Preparation of Asset Strategies, Policies and Standard Designs will be a key task
for IW in the short term. Standardisation will deliver benefits in terms of quality and efficiency across the
entire capital delivery and asset maintenance programmes.
A range of studies are proposed in relation to the WFD and Priority Substances Directive. This will include
development of GIS and catchment modelling capability to support IW’s prioritisation of investment needs
and engagement with the EPA in relation to RBMPs and waste water discharge licencing. These tools will
support an evidence-based analysis of the environmental benefits of investment in urban waste water
infrastructure and appropriate apportionment of pollution reduction measures between water services and
other sectors, impacting on the natural water environment.
In this regard, an allocation is also included for policy analysis and advice in relation to Article 9 of the WFD.
This relates to the ‘polluter pays’ principle and to ensure adequate understanding by IW of the
responsibilities of the different water users towards recovery of cost of water services.
IW has inherited a significant compliance deficit with regard to the UWWTD, which is reflected in the ECJ
case against Ireland. Current commitments given to the EU Commission to deliver infrastructure by 2015 to
enable compliance with the UWWTD are acknowledged as unachievable and unaffordable. As noted
above, IW proposes to work closely with the EPA and DECLG, including engagement with the EU
Commission, to develop a strategy and roadmap for UWWTD compliance. IW has developed a work plan
for this strategy and roadmap which includes:

Establishing the current status of projects addressing urban waste water compliance and where
possible changing to more economical and/or accelerated solutions;

Developing catchment modelling capability in order to better assess the environmental benefit of
capital investment options;

77 | Irish Water
Developing a storm water overflow strategy with regard to best international practice; and
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016

Developing a multi-criteria analysis methodology in order to prioritise investment to achieve best
environmental outcomes.
In addition to compliance with the UWWTD, more onerous obligations, in terms of waste water treatment
standards, will be imposed on IW following the preparation of RBMPs by the EPA under the UWWTD. This
will have consequences for additional capex and opex. IW’s capability, to be developed in the urban waste
water compliance strategy, should assume that the level of investment required from IW to achieve the level
of compliance required is fair, when compared with the measures required from the agricultural, industrial
and other sectors impacting the water environment.
The objective of the Urban Waste Water Compliance Strategy is to establish agreement with the EPA,
DECLG and the EU Commission on a roadmap for UWWTD compliance, and which achieves the required
environmental outcomes of the WFD, at an affordable cost and an achievable timeline up to 2027.
Food Harvest 2020 is also likely to have an impact on natural water systems, with potential for significant
cost implications for IW. An independent study on the implications of Food Harvest 2020 will be considered
including a review of the likely mitigating measures appropriate for the agricultural sector. This would enable
IW to provide informed input to the consultation/rollout of Food Harvest 2020. Emerging requirements under
the Priority Substances Directive may have cost implications for IW in the order of €2- €3bn. A study will be
carried out on this to quantify the current extent of discharge and to identify likely cost-effective solutions,
including reduction at source instead of expensive end-of-pipe treatment.
As outlined in the previous section, Sludge Management Plans are currently in place at a county level. IW
will need to develop a plan to examine efficiencies that can be delivered through managing sludge at a
national level. The plan will also consider appropriate and sustainable technologies for treatment and reuse/disposal of sludge over the medium term timeframe.
Finally, Water Safety Plans will be required for all of the approximately 1,000 WSZs across the country in
order to manage drinking water quality risk, in accordance with best international practice. These will inform
the capital and operational interventions, which are considered necessary. It is envisaged that most of this
work will be carried out by IW and LA personnel, with some external specialist support.
5. 14 DE V E LOP E R DRIV E N RE INFORCE ME N T
IW must be in a position to respond to development activity and leverage it to provide infrastructure that will
be capable of supporting a larger customer base in future years. However, the demand for developer driven
network reinforcement is difficult to project, particularly until IW has completed its own growth models. In the
interim Price Control period, IW has estimated that €9m, €11m and €13m will be required in 2014, 2015 and
2016 respectively. These figures may well be serious under-estimates if economic recovery proves robust.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
5. 15 HE A LTH & S A FE TY
A provision of €2m per year has been made to address significant emerging health & safety issues across
the thousands of above and below ground installations. The provision will address hazards such as :

Working close to deep water at IW sites and also at rivers and lakes;

Working with hazardous chemicals;

Working at heights;

Working in confined spaces with potential for oxygen deficiency and toxic or explosive gases;

Explosive gas and dust; and

Electrical installations.
It is expected that the true funding requirement to bring assets up to a minimum health and safety standards
will be far higher and that this initial expenditure will address significant emerging issues. Other inherited
issues will be identified through a programme of inspections, which will be carried out by the IW HSQE
function as well as Operations feedback. Each issue will be risk assessed to determine the investment
priority.
5. 16 S CA DA & TE LE ME TRY
SCADA, Telemetry and supporting information systems will be essential to the longer term operations and
asset performance activities of IW and regulatory data requirements. From the research completed to date,
it is clear that there is a multiplicity of systems, data and data processing tasks throughout the LA water
services sections. Historic funding and structural arrangements have led to a fragmented and weak data
management infrastructure, which poses a significant risk to IW. These shortcomings need to be addressed
in the short term.
In the interim, IW must establish the detailed steps required to migrate from an ad-hoc collection of systems
into an integrated and enduring solution that support the business and regulatory requirements for the
medium to long term. The activities in this category will include a major GIS project leveraging the modern
GDA GIS data model, external consultancy to scope SCADA & Telemetry requirement , as well as the initial
delivery of hardware and software solutions. Other activities include:

Complete a desktop integration study with case information from LAs in line with SLAs and
KPI’s for IW and the CER;

Establish a link with Maximo for Leakage and Hydraulic Performance Information;

Establish a link to the SCADA and Telemetry data of each LA specifically with respect to
leakage data or identify an alternate method of data collection;

Develop a data communications strategy to support SCADA that takes account of long-term
needs and provides opportunity for early or phased implementation;

Migrate existing leak database information into GIS/Maximo;

Determine the need for (and nature of) an interim solution for a water auditing system ; and
79 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016

Assess, procure & implement a standardized water auditing system for leakage control.
The funding requirement estimate reflects the cost of acquiring initial visibility of and basic
connectivity
to the existing SCADA systems and commencing full development and more
comprehensive integration with IW central systems from 2015 onwards.
5. 17 Non-Cont rac t Cos t for P rojec t s Under S t at us C
There are a significant number of Major Capital Projects in the Investment Programme and IW is committed
to reviewing these projects with regard to new information, WIAC governance requirements and the need to
achieve the maximum demonstrable benefit for the limited capital available. In addition, the IW Asset
Strategy needs to review the projects that it has already “parked” from the original WSIP, on the basis that
they do not meet the IW priority project criteria, despite meeting the requirements of the WSIP "Assessment
of Needs" process with the DECLG previously.
Each of these projects will need to be reviewed again to establish whether a business case exists for them
under the new WIAC governance process, recognising that in all cases they will have represented a defined
issue or deficit from a LA perspective. It is likely that such schemes will be required, though they may be rescoped and/or delivered by different means.
A review of a project that is at an advanced stage of design or procurement will require significant effort and
cost to extract the elements that deliver the highest benefit against IW’s investment drivers and to
subsequently de-scope or reconfigure the project and/or contracts. Development of the business cases for
the “parked” projects will also require time and resources.
80 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
6
T OT AL CAPIT AL FUND ING REQUIREM ENT
The total capital funding required for this proposed CIP, as described in this document, is summarised in the
table below. It includes all of the estimated investment required for the Period, to complete ‘in flight’ projects
and to progress projects taken over at all stages in the WSIP.
This allocation will also fund the commencement of IW’s programmes of works, to address priority drivers in
both water and waste water assets through Minor Capital Projects, Works and Key Studies and assum ing
that all liabilities relating to retention and final accounts were accrued by the LA in 2013.
Category
2014-2016 Projected Spend
Major Capital - Main Driver Drinking Water Quality
€193,506,625
Major Capital - Water Conservation
€151,997,184
Major Capital - Main Driver Drinking Water Availability
€136,845,135
Water Total
€482,348,944
Major Capital - Main Driver Waste Water Compliance
€366,206,779
Major Capital - Main Driver Waste Water Availability
€379,896,879
Waste Water Total
€746,103,658
Minor Capital Works (Reactive)
Minor Capital Projects
€75,000,000
€105,000,000
Developer Driven Reinforcement
€33,000,000
Legacy Final Accounts
€95,000,000
Key Studies (for Gate 1 WIAC process)
€8,064,640
Health & Safety
€6,000,000
Telemetry
€7,900,000
Capital Project Office Staff
Suppressed Capital Maintenance
Customer Side Leakage
€100,000,000
€51,000,000
€2,000,000
Metering Surveys
€1,771,417,242
Grand Total
Table 4: Summary of Total Capital Funding Requirement.
81 | Irish Water
€60,000,000
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
€ millions
Q4 2014
2014
2015
2016
2014-2016
Major Capital Wastewater
€36
€146
€246
€354
€746
Major Capital Water
€24
€94
€159
€229
€482
Other Capital including Minor
€35
€142
€195
€206
€543
Total Capital Investment Plan
€95
€382
€601
€789
€1,771
Table 5: Summary of Total Capital Funding Requirement per year.
The Appendices provide the detailed breakdown of projects, sorted by driver and LA. Each project has been
assigned one of the following statuses:
A. Continue in Construction indicates that a project is ‘in-flight’ and at the construction stage, i.e. the
contract has been signed and cannot be easily re-configured or de-scoped. These projects are considered
as committed expenditure liability in the investment programme.
B. Review Scope and Commence Construction indicates that the project has been ranked as high
priority using the decision tree criteria outlined earlier and that it is sufficiently advanced that it will
realistically reach construction during the Period.
C. Continue Planning and Business Case Review indicates that the project has been ranked as lower
priority using the decision tree criteria outlined earlier and/or that it is not advanced enough to reach
construction during the Period. This category includes some very large projects that will not reach
construction during the Period such as the Greater Dublin Drainage and Long Term Water Source projects,
which are nonetheless urgent national or regional priorities over a longer timeframe.
As stated previously, each project that has been included in this CIP has been through the DECLG
appraisal process and includes approved preliminary and detailed designs. IW’s prioritisation process has
already reduced the investment to a minimum, taking account of the limited capital funds available to it.
However, due diligence of committed project budgets, together with accelerated new contract commitments
towards the end of 2013, present a serious risk of budget exceedances in this period, without substantial
additional funding.
Consideration for additional funding must take into account the urgent needs of the service, the scale of the
funding deficit since 2009 and the generally agreed estimates of the required scale of capital investment
needed (€500-600m per annum as per the PwC reports), which led to the Government decision to establish
IW and engage in the water sector reform programme.
82 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
7
GLOS S ARY
Acronym
Term
Definition
ALC
Active Leakage Control
The process by which unreported leaks are detected
and repaired.
AMR
Automated Meter Reading
SCADA
Supervisory control and data
A telemetry system that consists of alarms to
Acquisition
communicate with the call centre.
Adoption
Process by which the Water Services Authority (WSA)
takes responsibility for assets – usually sewers or
water mains.
BOD
Biochemical Oxygen Demand
Biochemical
oxygen
demand
is
the
amount
of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological
organisms in a body of water to break down organic
material present in a given water sample at certain
temperature over a specific time period.
BGÉ
Bord Gáis Éireann
Bord Gáis Éireann is a major energy provider,
supplying both gas and electricity to homes and
businesses throughout the country.
BGN
Bord Gáis Networks
An organisational division of Bord Gáis Éireann that
owns, operates and maintains the natural gas network
in Ireland. BGN operates independently of the other
Bord Gáis divisions as required under EU and National
legislation. BGN connects customers to the gas
network.
BV
Boundary Valve
A valve situated at the boundary between operational
zones. Usually the valve is in the closed position, only
being opened to allow water to be transferred from one
operational zone to another.
83 | Irish Water
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
CAPEX
Capital Expenditure
An amount spent
to
acquire
or upgrade productive assets (such
as buildings,
machinery and equipment, vehicles) in order to
increase the capacity or efficiency of a company for
more than one accounting period.
CIP
Capital Investment Plan
CPO
Capital Project Office
These are teams set up within the LA’s to manage
delivery of capital water and waste water infrastructure
projects.
COD
Chemical Oxygen Demand
The chemical oxygen demand test is commonly used
to
indirectly
measure
compounds in water.
the
amount
of organic
COD is a useful measure
of water quality.
Chlorination
Chlorination is the process of adding the element of
chlorine to water as a method of water purification to
make it fit for human consumption as drinking water.
Collection system
The pipes, tanks, valves, and pumps that work
together to transport municipal waste from the point it
is generated to the treatment system.
Combined sewers
Sewers that carry both sanitary sewage and storm
water runoff.
Combined sewers
Sewers that carry both sanitary sewage and storm
water runoff.
CER
Commission for Energy Regulation
The Commission for Energy Regulation is the regulator
for the electricity and natural gas and now water
services
sectors
in Ireland.
The CER will be
responsible for the regulation process and finalisation
of tariff model of IW.
Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidiosis,
a parasitic
disease caused
by Cryptosporidium. It affects the intestines and is
typically an acute short-term infection. It is spread
through
the fecal-oral
contaminated water.
CSL
84 | Irish Water
Customer Side Leakage
route,
often
through
Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
Demand Management
Measures taken by water companies and others to
manage households and non-household demand for
water. Measures include leak management, water
efficiency and metering.
DECLG
Department of Environment,
A governmental department that promotes sustainable
Community and local Government
development through protection of the environment,
infrastructure
provision,
balanced
regional
development and good local government.
DBO
Design, Build, Operate
A project delivery option where the facility is design,
built and operated by a single contracting entity on
behalf of IW. The contractor is paid to operate the plant
for a set period and is responsible for meeting the
required quality and environmental standards.
Discharge
The flow of surface water in a stream or canal or the
outflow of ground water from a well, ditch, or spring.
DMA
District Metered Areas
A district metered areas are sub-divisions of an overall
water supply network. They allow us to closely monitor
flow and pressures across the City with the telemetry
system
DWIRP
Drinking Water Incident Response
A plan prepared by a water services authority to
Plan
document the procedures, processes and information
to support the management of a drinking water
incident.
DWF
Dry Weather Flow
The flow of water in a stream during dry weather,
usually contributed entirely by groundwater.
ECJ
European Court of Justice
ELL
Economic levels of leakage
The level of leakage at which it would cost more to
make further reductions than to produce the water from
another source, is known as the economic level of
leakage. Operating at ELL means that the total cost to
the customer of supplying water is minimised and
companies are operating efficiently.
Effluent
Water or some other liquid (raw, partially or completely
treated) flowing from a reservoir, basin, treatment
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process or treatment plant.
ELV
Emission Limit Value
Can be defined as the amount of a substance (water),
usually expressed as a concentration and/or a level,
which may not be exceeded during any one or more
periods of time.
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency protects the
environment through its licensing, enforcement and
monitoring
activities.
It
will
take the role as
environmental regulator for IW, including the regulation
of drinking water quality and waste water discharges.
Engagement on establishing priorities will be critical to
determining the CIP and requirements for operations.
FOG
Fat, Oil and Grease
Fat, oil and grease cause major problems to drains and
sewers. When they are disposed of down kitchen sinks
or drains they cause blockages; when they enter
rainwater pipes or gullies they cause pollution in
streams and rivers.
Flowmeter
An instrument for monitoring, measuring, or recording
the rate of flow, pressure, or discharge of a fluid.
FOC
Forecast Out-turn Cost
Forecast project out-turn cost on completion.
GIS
Geographic Information System
GIS is a System used for capturing, storing and
organizing data referenced to real world co-ordinates.
Once captured, the data can be rapidly retrieved,
analysed, manipulated and presented in many different
ways. GIS can greatly enhance the decision making
and service delivery capability of the organisation. GIS
is used within BGN and will be used within IW.
GWS
Group Water Scheme
Group water schemes are found in rural areas, which
are outside the scope of the urban public mains system
administered by the local authority.
HSE
Health Service Executive
The HSE provides health and social services to
everyone living in Ireland. Some of the services they
provide include environmental health services. From
an IWP perspective the HSE will oversee the
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fluoridation of water.
HSQE
Health, Safety, Quality & the
Business function within IW. The Health, Safety,
Environment
Quality,
Environment
function within Bord Gáis
Networks is responsible for focusing on all aspects of
safety policy, monitoring and internal and external
quality assurance and compliance across all areas of
the business.
IW
Irish Water
National water utility being established within the Bord
Gáis group to manage the delivery of water and
wastewater services in Ireland.
KPI
Key Performance Indicator
A predefined measure of performance. KPI’s are
standards against which performance of an individual
or team can be assessed.
LA’s
Local Authorities
The LA’s are the administrative unit of the local
government. Essentially IW will manage the services
that the LA’s provide today, but as a cohesive
organisation it, will be able to take a strategic, national
approach to planning, development, raising finance,
investment and operations. This will enhance the
quality of water services, improve the efficiency of the
water system and reduce operating costs.
Maximo
Maximo is a piece of asset management software that
is used to manage work effectively. Maximo holds
asset data such as resource skills and qualifications. It
is also used to manage project costs and prerequisites.
NSS
National Spatial Strategy
OFWAT
Office of Water Services (UK)
OFWAT is the economic regulator of the water and
sewerage sectors in England and Wales.
OPEX
Operating Excellence
A business goal which seeks to reduce inefficiencies
and increase quality.
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O&M
Operations & Maintenance
Actions taken after construction to ensure that facilities
constructed to treat waste water will be properly
operated
and
maintained to achieve normative
efficiency levels and prescribed effluent limitations in
an optimum manner.
PCS
Project Control System
PE
Population Equivalent
Population equivalent, in waste-water treatment is the
number expressing the ratio of the sum of the pollution
load produced during 24 hours by industrial facilities
and services to the individual pollution load in
household sewage produced by one person in the
same time.
PWS
Public Water Supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities,
commercial organizations, community endeavours or
by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and
pipes.
RAL
Remedial Action List
RWMP
Rural Water Management Plan
Security of Supply
The extent to which water supplies to customers are
reliable.
SLA
Service Level Agreements
A SLA is a part of a service contract where a service is
formally defined. IW will be reliant on a number of
important stakeholders to build this organisation. This
will be facilitated by a number of service level
agreements which are currently being created.
Service Pipe
A pipe supplying water from a water main to any
premises.
Serviceability
The capability of a system of assets to deliver an
expected level of service to consumers and to the
environment now and into the future.
SWO
Storm Water Overflow
A structure or device on a sewerage system designed
and constructed for the purpose of relieving the system
of excess flows that arise as a result of rain water or
melting snow in the sewered catchment, the excess
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flow being discharged to receiving waters.
SEA
Strategic Environmental Assessment
Syclo
Syclo is a handheld system used to update the status
of work. It is a system which contains all necessary
details for each job and allows for information to flow
quicker.
TOM
Target Operating Model
The TOM was the first phase of the IWP. Our
programme teams have been working to define the
functions, organisation design and processes to allow
us to develop a clear and consistent foundation for the
operating model and organisation design. The TOM
will design both the end state IW organisation and also
how the organisation will operate at each key
milestone throughout the establishment programme.
TSS
Total Suspended Solids
Solid materials, including organic and inorganic, that
are suspended in the water. High concentrations of
suspended solids can lower water quality.
THM
Trihalomethane
Trihalomethanes
predominantly
are
formed
when chlorine is
as
a
by-product
used
to disinfect
water for drinking. Long term exposure to THMs can be
harmful to health. THMs are also environmental
pollutants.
UFW
Unaccounted for Water
Unaccounted for water refers to water lost in the
network of pipelines between the drinking water
treatment plants and consumers as a result of leakage.
UWWTD
Urban Waste Water Treatment
The UWWTD’s objective is to protect the environment
Directive (EC legislation)
from
the
adverse
effects
of urban
waste
water discharges and discharges from certain industrial
sectors and concerns the collection, treatment and
discharge of domestic waste water and waste water
from certain industrial sectors.
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Wastewater
Water that has been used, for washing, flushing, or in a
manufacturing process, and so contains waste
products with dissolved or suspended solids; this
includes sewage. Wastewater may be discharge from
homes,
commercial
establishments,
farms
and
industries.
WWTP
Wastewater Treatment Plant
A facility containing a series of tanks, screens, filters,
and other processes by which pollutants are removed
from water.
WFD
Water Framework Directive
The WFD is a European Union directive which commits
member states to achieve good qualitative and
quantitative status of all water bodies (including marine
waters up to one nautical mile from shore) by 2015.
WIAC
Water Investment Approvals
Committee
Water Meter
A device which measures and/or records the rate of
water flow in a water main.
WSP
Water Safety Plan
A Water safety plan is a plan to ensure the safety
of drinking
water through
comprehensive risk
the
use
of
a
assessment and risk
management approach that encompasses all steps
in water supply from catchment to consumer.
WSIP
Water Services Investment
The Water Services Investment Programme is a
Programme
programme ran by the Department of the environment,
community and local government. It relates to the
provision of major water and wastewater schemes
(projects over €1 m) to meet key environmental and
economic objectives.
WSA
Water Services Authority
WSZ
Water Supply Zone
A water supply system or water supply network is a
system
engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components
which provide water supply.
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Proposed Capital Investment Plan 2014-2016
WTP
Water Treatment Plant
A WTP is a facility which treats water to the required
standard for the desired end-use.
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APPENDICES
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