Vartry reservoir upgrade to cost up to €200m

Plans have been drawn up to upgrade the 150-year-old water treatment plant at the Vartry reservoir in Co Wicklow, at a cost of up to €200 million.

Irish Water has submitted a planning application to Wicklow County Council seeking permission for the construction of a new treatment plant on the site of the existing one.

The utility said Vartry provides drinking water for one of the most densely populated areas in the country, serving more than 200,000 people in an area that stretches from Co Wicklow to south Dublin.

The Vartry scheme and the mid-Wicklow supplies have been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as being at risk of failure to meet national drinking water standards.

Irish Water said the proposed new treatment plant, along with other planned upgrades to the existing site, will secure the water supply for the long-term and ensure the scheme continues to meet all drinking water standards.

The plant was originally constructed in the 1860s .

It consisted of two reservoirs, a water treatment plant, a 4km tunnel under Callowhill and 60km trunk main.

‘An important step’

Irish Water project manager Geoff O’Sullivan said submitting the planning application was “an important step in securing the drinking water to the Vartry water supply area of north Wicklow and south Dublin”.

“The scheme has had no major upgrade since it was built over 150 years ago and is now in need of urgent investment. Irish Water will invest up to €200 million in the upgrade, which is seen as a priority project,” he said.

Irish Water said the upgrade works would also enable the extension of the water supply network from Vartry to other areas of mid-Wicklow, including Rathdrum, Aughrim, Avoca, Ballinaclash, Roundwood, Laragh, Annamoe, Redcross, Conary and Glenealy.