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Engineers Week

A week-long festival of events which aims to encourage students to explore the world of engineering

Engineers Week 2022

STEPS Engineers Week, which runs from March 5 to 11, promotes engineering and positively showcases the profession as a rewarding and creative career choice to children across the country. Last year’s event marked Ireland’s largest celebration of engineering in the community with more than 108,000 participants nationwide.

Uisce Éireann is home to some of the country’s best engineers and during Engineers Week they will be sharing their stories and explaining their roles in the community.


The Story of Water

‘The Story Of Water’ is a documentary that focuses on the critical value of our most precious natural resource and explores the ongoing threats to its future - both globally and in Ireland. Featuring Ireland’s coastal and inland waterways - as well as contributions from engineers, planners and consumers - the documentary explores the development and current state of Ireland’s public water network, presenting a unique perspective on the ongoing national project to upgrade the country’s drinking water supply and wastewater treatment.

A documentary focusing on our most precious natural resource


Strandhill Wastewater Treatment Plant

Every year, during Engineers Week, Uisce Éireann and our Local Authority partners regularly invite students to visit our local drinking water and wastewater treatment plants to give them the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of these facilities and promote engineering as a career. This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, access to our treatment plants has been limited. As an alternative to visiting your local wastewater treatment plant, you can now enjoy a virtual tour of Strandhill Wastewater Treatment Plant, a state-of-the-art facility which has increased its capacity by approximately 150%. The upgrade works now ensure that the treatment plant is environmentally compliant and will also provide for economic growth and development in Strandhill. Strandhill is one of four wastewater treatment plants in Sligo which was recently upgraded, benefiting over 8,300 customers, along with Grange, Tubbercurry and Ballinafad.

Virtual tour of the recently upgraded, state-of-the-art treatment plant

Uisce Éireann is investing in the wastewater infrastructure across the country, building new plants, upgrading old plants and laying new sewers. We manage approximately 1,062 wastewater treatment plants and 25,000 km of sewer network, and over a billion litres of wastewater is collected every day in Ireland’s public sewers and treated at treatment plants before being released safely back into the environment.

 

Meet the engineers

Profile image of Lisa Garrett

Lisa Garrett - Health and Safety Officer

"If you want a role in engineering then don’t let anything stop you from doing that. The fact that you’re a woman does not matter. It’s a rewarding industry."

Profile image of Cathal Divilly – Plant Caretaker

Cathal Divilly – Plant Caretaker

"Managing the plants is an exciting role to be in with continuous improvements and developments. I’d encourage anyone with an interest in engineering or science to consider a job in water services."

Profile image of Anna Brosnan

Anna Brosnan - Wastewater Non-Infrastructure (Above Ground) SLA Lead

"Engineers have the ability and opportunity to protect, shape and improve our world. The best advice is to find your niche, what you’re good at and really go for it. It’s so important to enjoy what you’re working at, as life is short.”

Profile image of Déaglán Healy

Déaglán Healy - Project Manager

“There is such a lot of variety, no two days are the same. There’s always a new challenge to be overcome and it’s great that you can see the fruits of your labour most of the time, as a new building rises from the ground, or as with the Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project, we end the equivalent of 40,000 wheelie bins of raw sewage going into the harbour every day – that’s a harbour that I swim in, my family swim in - so being part of the solution for all the communities surrounding the harbour, makes me proud – as an engineer, as a family man and as a Cork man." 

Profile image of Maura Joy

Maura Joy - Programme Delivery Manager Ringsend WwTP Upgrade Project

"All projects are about problem solving, delivering infrastructure for the right reason, the most important reason, protecting health. Remember, water services are the original public health services.”

Profile image of Matt Thompson

Matt Thompson - Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead

“The part I enjoy the most is the interaction with stakeholders. In this job you work with so many different people from different areas that no two days are the same."

Profile image of Emily Kavanagh

Emily Kavanagh - Project Engineer Ringsend WwTP Upgrade Project

"A qualification in engineering opens the door to many opportunities to allow you to find a career that will play to your strengths. These can range from the roles that are highly technical to those roles that are more people focused."

Profile image of Gary Kehoe

Gary Kehoe - Land and Statutory Consents Coordinator

"I applied for the Graduate Programme because it offered a unique opportunity to try a mixture of different disciplines and to gain experience in both office and on-site work."

Profile images of two members of the team put side by side

Teamwork flowing through Galway’s water services

With Galway City’s population expected to grow by 50% in the next 20 years and the county proving a popular spot to set up home, Uisce Éireann’s engineers are working with their local authority colleagues to ensure water services are ready for the surge in growth.

Profile image of Alice O’Sullivan

Alice O’Sullivan - National Design Build Operations Manager

"A qualification in engineering opens the door to many opportunities to allow you to find a career which will play to your strengths."

Profile image of Fintan Ruddy and his child

Fintan Ruddy - Water and Wastewater Engineer

"I would highly recommend a career in Engineering. I would recommend gaining experience in all aspects of engineering, continue to learn as much as you can but most importantly develop good working relationships along the way."