Objections to plans by Uisce Éireann to extract over 300 million litres of water a day from the River Shannon, to boost supply to the east of the country, have been lodged by communities in the mid west opposed to the project.
Uisce Éireann applied in December for planning permission for the largest water project in Irish history.
It proposes constructing a 170km steel pipeline that will pump drinking water from the River Shannon, at the Parteen Basin below Lough Derg, to the Midlands, Eastern and Greater Dublin area.
The water utility proposes to abstract a maximum of 2% of the average river flow. The estimated cost of the underground pipe is €4.6 billion, but could potentially cost up to €10bn.
A public consultation on the plan closes to the public today.
The River Shannon Protection Alliance (RSPA), one of the main groups opposed to the plan, said the project is not necessary, and that it supports submissions by local authorities in the region that claim the pipeline "will damage water flows to Limerick and [cause] major ecological damage to Lough Derg and the River Shannon".
Clare and Tipperary County Councils are making a submission to An Coimisiún Pleanála which is expected to outline some opposition to the proposed pipeline, and Limerick City and County Council is holding a special meeting next week to discuss Uisce Éireann's application, and to decide if they will make a submission before the 30 March deadline.
The RSPA claims if Uisce Éireann fixed leaks in the capital, there would be no need to undertake the project. The group said Limerick's water supply is already under strain and that its wastewater treatment needs a substantial upgrade.
Elaine Doyle, Project manager and environmentalist with the RSPA, said if the project gets planning, it will cut the water flow to Limerick in summer months.
She said when water is needed in the Greater Dublin area during the summer, it is also needed in the Shannon. "If droughts are now frequent and severe enough to threaten Dublin’s supply, they are severe enough to threaten the Shannon system when extra water is taken out."
The ESB closes the turbines at Ardnacrusha power plant during the summer to keep the old course of the river alive at O'Briens Bridge, Castleconnell, Plassey, Corbally.
It has to maintain a statutory compensation flow to the original river and as a result, the ESB said, "frequently there is little or no generation at Ardnacrusha over the summer months".
In response, Uisce Éireann said, "Extensive hydrological and water quality modelling has been undertaken with particular emphasis on drought periods, including an assessment of the peak abstraction in a drought/low flow period".
Chair of the Lough Derg Anglers Association Christopher O'Meara has been fishing on the Shannon for nearly 30 years.
The group represents 14 fishing clubs along the river and its submission on the plan is supported by 1,500 members.
Mr O’Meara, who is from Ballina in Co Tipperary, said the extraction point of the proposed pipeline is located at the last holding area for migratory fish before they enter the River Shannon and continue upstream into Lough Derg.
He said there is grave concern among anglers that the project could have a significant impact on the migratory fish population, particularly trout and salmon.
He said the Shannon was the largest salmon run in Europe 100 years ago, with more than 40,000 salmon annually passing through the river before the construction of the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric scheme.
The angler said that last year a salmon census counted 975 entering the Upper Shannon catchment.
Uisce Éireann said, "There will be no change to the statutory compensation flow and fish passage to the Old River Shannon, and therefore, no projected significant changes to downstream sediment regime due to the Proposed Project".
'There are alternatives and the alternatives have not been explored' - Clare Co Cllr
Across the lake in Killaloe, Clare County Councillor Tony O'Brien said the "overwhelming feeling of the locality" is that the natural amenity of the Shannon River and Lough Derg will be irrevocably damaged by the project.
The local representative insists that this is not a case of "us versus them".
"Everybody in the country is entitled to a clean supply of fresh water, a good supply and a reliable supply into their homes, but there are alternatives and the alternatives have not been explored and presented to the people." he said.
Cllr O’Brien said that "this has been presented to us as a fait accompli by Uisce Eireann and it’s wrong".
The water utility, in response, said the proposed pipeline is "a critical infrastructure project", which would provide a "resilient, safe, and secure water supply with capacity to address the water supply needs for up to 50% of the population".
The company said water levels would remain "unchanged and undiminished under this proposal" and that there would be a "neutral effect" on water quality.
It said the project is also "critical to the delivery of housing and growth" nationally and its planning application will "secure a new source of water from the River Shannon at Parteen Basin, abstracting a maximum of 2% of the long term annual average flow of the River Shannon at Parteen Basin".
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Uisce Éireann said it had submitted environmental impact assessment reports as part of its planning application.
"We need a new sustainable source of water alongside continued leakage reduction. Fixing leaks is essential, but it’s only part of the solution," it said.
A public consultation on the plan closes today. Local authorities have until March 30 to make any submissions.
An Comisiúin Pleanála is required to decide on the matter within 48 weeks.
If planning permission is granted Uisce Éireann proposes to start construction in 2028 and complete it within five years.
Objections 'extremely disappointing' - Chambers
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said reports that local authorities are objecting to the project are "extremely disappointing".
Speaking at a press event in his department, he said the project is critical and Uisce Éireann said it will supply 500,000 homes through the midlands and east.
"It's extremely disappointing to see local authorities take a very parochial interest in such a project. This is a project that is critical for national economic development …. and many of the concerns that I’ve seen are unfounded," Mr Chambers said.
He said if the project is stopped it will slow economic growth into the 2030s and seriously harm housing supply.
"Councils should see the bigger picture," he said.
