Sod turned on flagship reservoir project for the Greater Dublin Area

23 July 2021

Uisce Éireann in partnership with Dublin City Council and South Dublin County Council today marked the start of the works on building a new reservoir in Saggart. This strategically important project involves the construction of a new 100 million litre covered treated storage reservoir that will help to safeguard the water supply to homes and businesses in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA). The new state of the art reservoir will store 100 million litres of treated drinking water, the equivalent of 40 Olympic sized swimming pools supplied from Ballymore Eustace Water treatment plant, Ireland’s largest water treatment plant.

The construction of the new reservoir and associate pipelines is expected to be completed within 3 years. Coffey Construction Ireland Limited recently signed the contract to deliver this project on behalf of Uisce Éireann.

The upgrade marks the first significant investment in the existing Saggart waterworks since it was built in the 1950’s. The current waterworks will be replaced with a new reservoir that will provide treated drinking water storage, building resilience in the water infrastructure for the GDA and improving the security of supply for existing and future residential and commercial development. Today across the world and in indeed in Ireland we can see the impacts of Climate Change bringing long spells of warmer weather and warnings alongside the continued need to support housing, businesses and economic growth. The Eastern side of the country and the GDA’s water network need to be more resilient to periods of high demand and we need to build future capacity into water system for all. This project is one of a number of critical steps in safeguarding Dublin’s water supply to ensure it is capable of meeting current and future demand.

Speaking at the sod turning, Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Joe Costello said, “Turning the sod on the Saggart Reservoir project is an important milestone in the Greater Dublin Area’s water supply. The existing Saggart waterworks, built in the 1950s served our communities well and today marks the start of the construction of a new flagship reservoir that will serve homes and businesses across the GDA for decades to come. The reservoir will provide strategic water storage for the area and will provide for social and economic growth. I would like to commend those involved in bringing the project to this important day and I would like to wish the project team well as the build the flagship reservoir.”

Speaking at the sod turning for the Saggart reservoir project, Mayor of South Dublin County Council, Cllr Peter Kavanagh said, “The construction of this key piece of infrastructure demonstrates how Uisce Éireann, working in partnership with South Dublin County Council and Dublin City Council and along with Coffey Construction is delivering infrastructure that is critical for our communities and our economy. The delivery of this project will support existing and future residential and commercial development in the Greater Dublin Area and I would like to wish Uisce Éireann and the project team well as they embark on this important project that will help to build resilience in our water infrastructure for the longer term”.

Stephen Seymour, Uisce Éireann said, “This project announcement coincides with Uisce Éireann asking the public to conserve water, it goes to show how these projects are essential to allow Uisce Éireann to support social and economic growth in Ireland through the delivery of essential water and wastewater services. The size and scale of the task to improve water services for a modern growing economy shouldn’t be underestimated. We have made significant progress but there is work still to do as we continue to build world class water infrastructure through our multi-billion programme of investment. This particular project will provide strategic treated water storage capability at Saggart which is needed to support the building of houses and schools; to attract new industry and to allow companies to expand and grow across the GDA. In terms of size and scale, the new reservoir can store enough water to supply almost 300,000 homes with the water they need for one day. It is one of a portfolio of water projects that we are delivering to safeguard the water supply to homes and businesses.”

Uisce Éireann is continuing to urge the public to conserve water to ensure a consistent supply for all during this time. Further water conservation information is available on the Uisce Éireann website www.water.ie/conservation Uisce Éireann is adhering to government and HSE guidance and in compliance with stringent COVID-19 controls to deliver this essential project. For further information regarding this project please visit www.water.ie/projects/local-projects/saggart-reservoir-project/