The Proposed Water Supply Project for the Eastern and Midlands Region

Some time between 2010 and 2012 I attended a Green Party meeting in Malahide, and that was when I first heard about this project. I don’t normally go to political party meetings. I’m not a member of any political party. But I ended up at this one where I sat amazed as speakers gushed about this wonderful project they had envisioned for increasing Dublin’s water supply by pumping water from the River Shannon over to Dublin and its surrounding areas.

They scoffed at critics who said that the plan was not a realistic or appropriate solution because, don’t you know, water is pumped from Northern California to Southern California and that works great. And there is a real problem with the water supply in Dublin because there are leaks in the system that will take 30 years to fix, «at the current rate of repair ».

They really talked about the leaks like that, in a loud voice they would say it was going to take 30 years to fix the leaks, and then they tacked on, every single time, in a rushed and not so loud voice, « at the current rate of repair ». It reminded me of the rushed and hushed warnings on ads for investments about how «stocks may fall as well as rise » …

There were no critics voicing their objections that evening. I looked around the hall, waiting, expecting someone to say “Wait, isn’t Southern California a desert region though?” To me that seemed a rather crucial point. Southern California, isn’t that where the Mojave Desert is? While Dublin is … listen, 2026 is one of the driest summers we’ve had in years and our capital has still had over 120 days of rain so far this year. We had floods at the start of this year.

Did I voice my objections? I did not. Why would I even need to? The plan was so obviously inappropriate for a rain-soaked region.

I was slightly concerned that serious people, people I usually would have time for, were not just considering this ambitious project but making concrete plans to bring it about. Sometimes an ambitious project represents such a wonderful challenge, that ambitious types find it irresistible, even when it’s clearly not what is really needed and will cost more money and time than they’re prepared to acknowledge.

Can we - Should we - Resist the Irresistable Water Supply Project?

In the intervening years from that Green Party meeting, support for the project has grown to such an extent that Uisce Éireann has submitted its plans and work is due to start in 2028, subject to planning approval.

The proposed scheme would abstract raw water at Parteen Basin, treat it at Birdhill and then transport the treated water through more than 170 km of pipeline with a maximum capacity to deliver 300 million litres per day to a reservoir at Peamount in Dublin. The current estimated cost is €4.58–€5.96 billion, with completion envisaged within five years.

And the whole thing pretty much escaped my attention, until very recently when I went searching for news stories. I couldn’t believe things had got to this stage.

It’s not all bad news though.

Uisce Éireann has done amazing work with repairing leaks in the water supply systems throughout the country. At that meeting I heard that nearly half the water in Dublin was estimated to be lost through leaks. Uisce Éireann has reduced that wastage to 37% in Dublin. This is excellent work and deserves recognition. It represents millions more litres of drinking water being available daily to Dublin homes.

The public utility has set itself the goal of reducing the leakage rate in the Greater Dublin Area to 20% by the end of 2030, and to 25% for the rest of the country.

Fixing the pipes is far from easy, so the increased speed at which repairs have been delivered really is great.

Experts are of the opinion that even if we reduce the rate of leakage to 20%, we will still need an additional supply of water in Dublin.

We Are Likely to Need More Water

We need to ensure that the Greater Dublin Area and Midlands, and the whole country, will have a good supply of water throughout the future years

I don’t disagree that we need to ensure an increased future supply. In fact, my conviction that we very much need to do this is one of the reasons I am so against the proposed Shannon Water Supply Project.

What are the Chances of this Project Being Brought in on Time or in Budget

10 years ago, after much delay in reaching agreement on location and other issues, construction finally began on the National Children’s Hospital. It was due to be completed in 2022. Obviously construction slowed during the pandemic, but aside from this the project has run into many issues. Currently, the expected completion date is Autumn, 2027. The project has hugely overrun its initial budget and is now expected to cost €2.2 billion.

Where’s the Metrolink? After just a short couple of decades of proposals, objections, and the usual back and forth, in September, the Government approved the project to proceed to detailed tendering, and enabling works are now expected to begin in early 2027. And who knows, that could happen. Exciting times.

Of course these are big projects, and it is normal for big projects to run into difficulties, objections and serious obstacles.

I don’t want to be overly critical. A harsher person might bring up the bike shed right about now. But I would never.

Resist the Ambitious & Alluring Mega-Project

Let Small, Local & Co-ordinated Solutions Provide the Answer Here

I understand that we are expected to have much greater water needs in the future and that we need to diversify the sources of our supply. I think the argument for diversification is sound. If 85% of Dublin’s water comes from the Liffey, relying so heavily on one source clearly presents a risk. But diversification does not necessarily mean that the alternative has to be a single €5 billion (or more) project bringing water 172 kilometres from the Shannon. Can we consider the local options further? What combination of smaller, local and regional sources could give us the resilience we need?

Rather than relying on the proposed Shannon pipeline, a mega-project that carries severe risks of budget overruns, chronic construction delays, and potential ecological disruption to the Shannon basin, we should look closer to home. A decentralised network utilising local groundwater reserves, regional aquifers, and advanced rainwater harvesting would offer a more resilient, cost-effective, and timely solution for Dublin without compromising another region’s ecosystem.

The An Taisce’s report on the project notes the issues with the project and how challenging it is. Ultimately they seem to support it - but that seems to be because, for now, this is the only significant plan we have to address our future water needs. That’s not a good enough reason to support anything. Particularly a project that presents huge logistical challenges and biodiversity risks.

Please resist the exciting challenge the proposed Water Supply Project represents, and instead let’s get a plan that is suited to our particular environment and our needs.

There’s an online petition at Change.org to Fight The Shannon Pipeline. I just signed it there. I hope you will too.