Irish Water has submitted a planning application to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council seeking permission for the construction of a new covered reservoir to be built at the Stillorgan Reservoir site.
The Stillorgan Reservoir site has supplied drinking water to the community for 150 years. The water company said the new covered reservoir is essential to safeguard the quality of the drinking water for over 200,000 customers - Treated drinking water exposed to the environment presents an unacceptable contamination risk.
One of the last remaining open service reservoirs of treated drinking water of its kind in Europe, the existing Stillorgan site contains three open water reservoirs which store treated drinking water prior to its distribution to customers.
The Stillorgan Reservoir Upgrade Project includes the draining of one of the reservoirs and the construction of a new covered reservoir. Once the new covered reservoir is operational, the other two open reservoirs will be decommissioned and landscaping of the site will take place. The new covered reservoir will have the capacity to support future growth to 2031.
The locations of the decommissioned reservoirs will be maintained for future water services infrastructure to secure the long-term supply of drinking water for the community.
Geoff O’Sullivan, Project Manager with Irish Water, said:
“Covering the reservoir will safeguard the quality of drinking water for the community and provide a long-term solution for the safe and sustainable management of the water supply for the next 15 years. This is a priority project for Irish Water and we are committed to investing approximately €80 million to ensure the upgrade to the reservoir provides the long term solution that is required to secure the water supply.”
The water company has already invested €3.4 million to improve the disinfection of drinking water stored in the Stillorgan Reservoir enabling the removal of the Stillorgan Reservoir from the EPA’s Remedial Action List. The investment in a new covered reservoir is a significant additional measure to protect and upgrade the water quality in the reservoir – both the EPA and HSE support the need to implement this longer term solution for the benefit of the community. The site will remain an active treated water storage area and consequently public access will not be permitted.
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been prepared in accordance with national and EU legislation and is submitted in support of the planning application. The EIS assesses all the potential impacts on the environment which could result from the development and proposed mitigation measures to minimise the residual impact.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council are now undertaking a five week period of statutory consultation. Subject to planning permission being granted, it is anticipated that construction will commence in 2018 and take approximately two years to complete.
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