Scientific and Technical Service Programme

Overview

Uisce Éireann is building on the excellent work of the Local Authorities (LAs) by establishing a national, accredited, in-house sampling and testing service to support the delivery of water and wastewater services across the country.

The Scientific and Technical Service Programme underpins the work of Uisce Éireann in delivering and upgrading water services across Ireland. This will be achieved by developing a new Scientific & Technical Service in collaboration with our key stakeholders.

Uisce Éireann is investing €60 million through the Programme which will deliver the first dedicated National Water Laboratory for Ireland and a centre of excellence for the analysis of drinking water and wastewater.

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The Scientific and Technical Service Programme includes

The construction of a new state-of-the-art National Laboratory facility in Ballysimon, Limerick

A national water and wastewater sampling service

A Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) which will store and report on sample and test data

The recruitment of approximately 90 scientific and technical experts to operate the new National Laboratory, with education and research links to 3rd level institutions

The new Laboratory and Scientific and Technical Service will deliver many benefits, including:

Improve water quality data

Increased capability levels for testing of drinking water and wastewater will help Uisce Éireann protect public health and the environment.

Regulatory Compliance

This national service will ensure compliance with new and expanding international legislation and controls.

Increased transparency for the public

Improvements in the speed of notification of quality failures will lead to an improved response capability and provide assurance to the public that they are receiving a high-quality service.

Economic growth

This national service will support Ireland’s need to continue to function as a growing economy. At regional level, the new Laboratory will generate high skilled employment opportunities, attracting graduates and experienced professionals to Limerick and the west region.

Once fully operational the new laboratory will process in the region of 250,000 water and wastewater samples from across the country and undertake 1.2 million tests annually in addition to testing river and lake water quality. It is anticipated that in region of 90 people will be employed in the operation of the New National Laboratory.

The National Laboratory

Construction of the new National Laboratory commenced in March 2023 and is expected to take approximately 2 years followed by a commissioning period. It is anticipated that the new National Laboratory will commence operations in 2026.

This will be the first dedicated National Water Laboratory for Ireland and a centre of excellence for the analysis of water and will include state of the art equipment for microbiological and chemical analysis including best in class automated and robotic analytical equipment.

The Laboratory will be operated to international best practice standard: ISO 17025 accreditation; enhancing and standardising the Testing & Sampling Service across Ireland.

The Laboratory building is 3,736m2 in scale, comprising a series of laboratories and support rooms. The Laboratory is designed to BREEAM outstanding rating with particular focus on efficient distribution, storage and analysis of samples for testing.