Irish Water is holding information evenings on a proposed new covered reservoir, to be built at the Stillorgan Reservoir site - the water company has committed to investing around €80 million in the project.
Two public events will be held tomorrow and Monday, 5 September 2016 at the Glenalbyn Sports Club, Glenalbyn Road, Stillorgan between 4.00pm and 8.00pm where members of the public and interested stakeholders can meet the project team.
The public information events are being held to coincide with a six week non-statutory public consultation. Interested parties are invited to submit their views on the upgrade to the Stillorgan Reservoir before Wednesday, 14 September 2016.
During the consultation period the proposed plans can be viewed on the Stillorgan project pages.
The present Stillorgan site contains three open water reservoirs which store treated drinking water prior to its distribution to customers - one of the last remaining open service reservoirs of treated drinking water of its type in Europe. Treated drinking water exposed to the environment presents an unacceptable contamination risk.
Irish Water said a new covered reservoir is essential to safeguard the quality of the drinking water for 200,000 customers.
The Stillorgan Reservoir upgrade project will include 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 remainder of the site is being reserved for future water services infrastructure to secure drinking water for the community.
Irish Water has already invested €3.4 million in a new system to improve the disinfection of drinking water stored in the Stillorgan Reservoir. Following this investment, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) removed the Stillorgan Reservoir from the Remedial Action List (RAL). However, this is an interim measure and both the EPA and HSE support the need to implement the longer term solution of covered reservoir storage that is now proposed.
Irish Water intends to submit a planning application to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in autumn 2016. A period of statutory consultation will then be undertaken by the County Council.
Commenting on the announcement, Geoff O’Sullivan, Head of Major Projects at Irish Water, said:
“We invite all interested parties to attend the public information events to share their views and ask any questions they have on the proposed project to cover the Stillorgan Reservoir. Covering the reservoir will safeguard the quality of drinking water for the community for the next 15 years. This project is a top priority for Irish Water.”
“ We have 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 two decommissioned reservoir areas will be maintained by Irish Water for future development to ensure that the community has a safe, sustainable water supply for the next 80 years”.
Subject to planning permission being granted, it is anticipated that construction will commence in 2018 and is anticipated to last approximately two years.
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