Leaking system can’t cope with demand

WHILE everybody across the State welcomes the economic recovery, it has highlighted once again the inadequacy of our water network, particularly in the capital.

A couple of years ago, there was around 8pc headroom in the Dublin system, meaning that 8pc more water was produced than required, which allowed some wriggle room in the event of a problem. In the last 12

months, that’s fallen to around 3pc or 4pc as economic growth returns, factories and industrial plants boost output and more houses are built.

The events of the last week show just how inadequate that headroom is. The leaks that have erupted following Storm Emma are compounded by a problem in the Vartry Water Treatment Plant, where an algae bloom means that 30 million fewer litres of water a day are being produced – around half the optimum capacity.

Add to that a 12pc increase in demand across the Greater Dublin Area, in part because households and businesses left their taps running, and the inevitable happens – the system breaks down.

That forced Irish Water to impose the 12-hour restrictions across Dublin and parts of Meath, Wicklow and Kildare from 7pm last night. Around 1.2 million people live in this catchment and while not all will be directly affected, as storage in attic tanks will get them through, many will wake this morning to no water, some not for the first time.

But it’s not only the capital and surrounding counties which are affected. As of 5.30pm yesterday, just over 33,500 people were without water and an additional 48,000 had restricted supply across Cork, Wexford, Tipperary, Limerick, Galway, Kerry, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Meath, Waterford and Westmeath.

In many cases, a common thread bound them together – the affected areas were served by plants which were already struggling to meet demand, so when problems arose the system couldn’t cope. Once again, the lack of investment came home to roost.

The solution to this problem is, of course, generating additional supply. Irish Water plans to draw water from the Shannon to serve Dublin and the Midlands, but the €1.3bn project has yet to go through the planning and procurement process. Irish Water managing director Jerry Grant said the project was “vitally urgent”, but that it was some way away yet.

In the meantime, the utility says it could take months for normal service to resume as it finds and fixes leaks. Dublin and surrounding counties’ local authorities have been told to engage whatever contractors they need to speed up repairs, but crews are no good unless you can pinpoint the issues.

Other projects will get under way shortly to make the system more resilient, which mostly involve producing more where possible and moving it around the network. The Leixlip plant could produce more, but needs a new pipe connecting Peamount to Saggart. The algae problem in Vartry will be sorted with a new plant, which has planning permission, while another plant in the region is capable of producing another 15 million litres, but needs a pipe to get it to underpressure areas.

The lack of investment in our network has once again come home to roost. Little comfort to those struggling without supply.

In the last year, the excess supply has reduced as the economic recovery spurs on business and new house building