Uisce Éireann is facing calls to urgently outline its Clare investment plans.
It comes amid renewed concerns over water and wastewater capacity issues in the greater Ennis area.
Uisce Éireann is currently planning upgrades to the Clareabbey sewerage plant, while it says a level of service improvement is needed at the drinking water facility.
Clareabbey Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom O’Callaghan says they need to know the timeline to enable future growth.
Uisce Eireann Statement:
Uisce Éireann is committed to supporting Government policy on housing delivery and sustainable economic growth by targeting investment where it can have the greatest impact. This includes investment to enhance water and wastewater treatment and network capacity, improve environmental compliance, and maximise the efficient use of existing infrastructure, while developing new capacity where required. Investment planning is aligned with national, regional and local planning frameworks.
Uisce Eireann has significant ongoing investment in water services in Clare. We provide details of water and wastewater capacity on our website please see Developer Services | Connections | Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water) or more specifically Capacity Registers | Connections | Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water)
The register indicates that there is water capacity available to meet 2035 population targets in Ennis while wastewater capacity is currently amber at Clareabbey wastewater treatment plant Ennis– meaning potential spare capacity, but additional analysis of applications may be required on an individual basis considering their specific load requirements. Potential availability of capacity in this case would be dependent on any additional load not resulting in a significant breach of the combined approach as set out in Regulation 43 of the Wastewater Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations 2007, which is a matter for the relevant Planning Authorities to determine
We also publish our capital investment plans online and this includes investment in Clare Capital Investment Plan – Refreshed Position | Uisce Eireann – one of the investments is for an upgrade of Clareabbey wastewater treatment in Ennis to facilitate growth.
Uisce Eireann is due to meet all elected representative in Clare as part of our engagement programme this Thursday in which we will answer queries put to us on a range of topics.
Listen to the full interview here:
