Uisce Éireann (Irish Water) will be holding public webinars from next week on its draft Regional Water Resources Plan - North West.
In November Uisce Éireann (formerly known as Irish Water) began a three-month public consultation on the draft Regional Water Resource Plan – North West (RWRP-NW).
As part of the ongoing consultation, the webinars will commence next week, during which communities across the region can hear about Uisce Éireann’s plans to supply water to their area over the next 25 years.
The RWRP-NW sets out options for providing a more secure, reliable and sustainable water supply for 732,700 customers in the North West region over the next 25 years.
The plan includes counties Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Monaghan, Sligo and parts of Clare, Longford, Louth, Meath and Roscommon. Eight islands off the coast of Ireland are also included in the region.
Uisce Éireann’s National Water Resources Plan will be the first resources plan for the entire public water supply in Ireland.
Given the scale of the area to be covered, the National Plan is being rolled out in two phases. The National Plan was first adopted in the summer of 2021 and Uisce Éireann has since moved into Phase 2 and is preparing four Regional Water Resources Plans.
The four regions are:
- Regional Water Resources Plan: North West
- Regional Water Resources Plan: South West
- Regional Water Resources Plan: South East
- Regional Water Resources Plan: Eastern and Midlands
Each Regional Plan is subject to its own consultation and, once adopted, all of the Regional Plans and the Framework Plan will be treated as a unified National Plan.
Public consultation on the draft Regional Water Resources Plan North West launched in November and will continue until 21 February 2023.
The draft RWRP-NW describes the North West Region and the current challenges faced now and into the future in terms of delivering a safe, secure and resilient water supply. It identifies progress made to date, for instance through leakage reductions, capital investment works, and works in progress. It applies the methodology as adopted in the Framework Plan to
(i) identify the Need across the 119 Water Resource Zones, in terms of quality, quantity, reliability and sustainability of supply, and
(ii) identify Plan level solutions to meet this Need across the region.
There are 142 Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) in the North West Region, which collectively serve 732,700 people or 18% of the population of Ireland, via approximately 17,732 kilometres of distribution network and 119 Water Resource Zones. The treatment plants also serve 74,000 businesses. The region itself covers approximately 26,912 square kilometres, encompassing counties Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Monaghan, Sligo and parts of Clare, Longford, Louth, Meath and Roscommon. Eight islands off the coast of Ireland are also included in the region.
Speaking ahead of commencement of the public webinars next week, Mairéad Conlon, Regional Water Resources Strategy Lead for Uisce Éireann said:
“We want to meet as many people as possible across the north west region over the coming weeks. We will show them our plans to supply water sustainably to their areas. We are looking forward to hearing from them and making sure that our plan is the best fit for the north west region.
“The draft Regional Plan will offer key benefits in terms of transformation of our supplies, including the ability to cater for growth and economic development in a sustainable way, through improved interconnectivity between our supplies to ensure balanced regional development and new sustainable water sources that are adaptable to climate change.
“The draft plan sets out how we envisage water will be supplied to homes and businesses across counties Cavan, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Monaghan, Sligo and parts of Clare, Longford, Louth, Meath and Roscommon over the next 25 years. Eight islands off the coast of Ireland are also included in the region. We are holding evening and day-time webinars to try and accommodate people as much as possible,” explained Mairéad.
Uisce Éireann is now seeking feedback on the public consultation for the draft RWRP-NW and associated SEA Environmental Report and Natura Impact Statement (NIS). The documents are available to view on the RWRP - North West section of the water company’s website.
Public webinars are being facilitated at the following times:
- Monday 16 January 2023, 7:30 to 9pm
- Wednesday 18 January 2023, 10 to 11:30am
- Tuesday 31 January 2023, 7:30 to 9pm
- Thursday 02 February 2023, 10 to 11:30am
The webinars will provide information on the draft Regional Water Resources Plan - North West and associated environmental reports and allow opportunities to ask questions.
Submissions can be made by post or email by 21 February 2023 to:
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Post: National Water Resources Plan, Uisce Éireann, PO Box 13216, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
Uisce Éireann is also seeking feedback on how it will develop options to address any problems identified.
All relevant submissions will be taken into consideration and responses to the issues raised will be summarised in a Consultation Report, which will be published on the National Water Resources Plan section of the waterr company website.
Click here for more information and to register to be part of an online public webinar.
The 13-week statutory public consultation will run until 21 February 2023.
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