The Chief Executive of Uisce Éireann has told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing that the project to take water from the River Shannon for the midlands and eastern region will directly benefit 2.5 million people across the country and support sustainable growth across the region.
Niall Gleeson said the Water Supply Project will ensure that Uisce Éireann can continue to provide Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow with a resilient, safe and secure water supply for the foreseeable future.
Further connections along the project's "spine" will service communities in north Tipperary, Offaly and Westmeath.
It will also facilitate the redirection of water currently supplying Dublin to Louth, Meath, Kildare, Carlow and Wicklow.
Mr Gleeson said the current water supply for the eastern and midlands region is far too dependent on the River Liffey.
As it stands, the River Liffey is the main water supply source for 1.7 million people in the Greater Dublin Area.
Uisce Éireann said that this means there is a lack water supply resilience because supplies in the region are extremely sensitive to drought and contamination.
It also means there is a lack in the necessary supply to meet the needs of the growing population and economy in addition to meeting the impacts of climate change.
Mr Gleeson said that by 2044, this region will need 34% more water than our current system can provide.
Not only is this supply deficit and lack of resilience unsafe for human health, but it will also further constrain Ireland's ability to attract investment and meet demands for housing, he said.
Project 'well received' by department
Niall Gleeson said he believes the preliminary business case for the Water Supply Project has been well received by the Department of Housing to which it was submitted.
He told the committee that the proposal is currently moving through the public spending code phase, and he is hoping to get some feedback in relation to its progress in the next couple of weeks.
Once it has been approved, the next stage will be to apply for planning permission.
He expects that will probably happen sometime around the middle of next year, or else the third quarter of next year.
He said there will be a public consultation on the project.
Mr Gleeson said he expects that there will be significant judicial challenges to the project even after it is given planning approval.
He said Uisce Éireann will be aiming to have the project delivering water by 2032 but that it could take until 2034 in the face of objections.
Uisce Éireann expects to have the rate of water leakage in the Dublin area reduced to 20%, from a current rate of 32%, well in advance of any water being supplied to the region from the Shannon pipeline project.
The utility company received nearly 150 requests from landowners for pipe route alterations to its Water Supply Project for bringing water from the River Shannon to midlands and eastern part of the country.
Angela Ryan, Uisce Éireann's Asset Strategy Manager, told the committee that the company has tried to accommodate such requests where possible.
So far it has been able to accommodate about one third of the pipe route alteration requests.
Another third has been partially accommodated, for instance by moving the pipeline slightly within the land to suit the landowners better.
However, it has not been able to accommodate the final third of pipe route alteration requests, predominantly for technical reasons, or because the requests involved just moving the pipeline to another person's piece of land.
There are approximately 500 landowners along the route of the pipeline.
Uisce Éireann has a dedicated landholder liaison team and has been actively engaging with each of those landowners over the last number of years.
So far it has had approximately 26 engagements with each landowner and has been granted access to land to complete all its site investigations to date.
