Irish Water seeking feedback from Kildare citizens on its draft Regional Water Resources Plan

Irish Water is seeking feedback from citizens in County Kildare for its draft Regional Water Resources Plan for the Eastern and Midlands Region (RWRP-EM).

The body's 13-week long statutory public consultation on its draft RWRP-EM will continue to run until March 14 2022.

Irish Water explained: "The three-month public consultation began on December 14 2021 and sets out the options for providing a more secure, reliable and sustainable water supply for 2.5 million customers in the Eastern and Midlands (E&M) region over the next 25 years."

"This public consultation is everyone’s opportunity to feed into the process of how Irish Water identifies the water supply issues in the region and determines what the options are to provide a more resilient water supply to customers."

Speaking about the public consultation on the draft plan, Angela Ryan, Water Resource Strategy Specialist for Irish Water, elaborated: “Public consultation on the draft plan is now underway: development of the draft plan will allow our organisation, for the first time, to review water supply needs collectively across the entire E&M Region covering a broad spectrum of risk including quality, quantity, reliability and sustainability."

Map of the RWRP-EM region

"It will allow us to consider local options to resolve these needs and larger regional options that can address multiple supplies," she added.

Ms Ryan also said that the draft Regional Plan will also offer key benefits in terms of transformation of Ireland's supplies: "This will include the ability to cater for growth and economic development in a sustainable way, improved interconnectivity between our supplies to ensure balanced regional development, and new sustainable water sources that are adaptable to climate change such as the new Shannon source which is coming from the largest catchment in Ireland."

The organisation's series of public webinars will be held on February 2, 3, 7 and 8, and will provide information on the draft RWRP-EM and allow opportunities to pose questions to inform submissions.

"If you would like to be part of an online public webinar on the draft Regional Water Resources Plan Eastern and Midlands and associated environmental reports, you can provide an expression of interest on our website at www.water.ie/rwrp/easternmidlands," Irish Water said.

"The National Water Resources Plan will be the first resources plan for the entire public water supply in Ireland. It is split into four regions and the first regional plan to be developed is the draft RWPR-EM."

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Irish Water continued: "There are 201 Water Treatment Plants in the Eastern and Midlands Region, which collectively serve 2.48 million people or 60 per cent of the population of Ireland, via approximately 19,000 kilometres of distribution network and 134 Water Resource Zones: these treatment plants also serve 76,000 businesses. 

Submissions can be made by post or email by 14 March 2022, by email at nwrp@water.ie, or by post at  National Water Resources Plan, Irish Water, PO Box 13216, Glenageary, County Dublin.

Irish Water further said that all submissions will be taken into consideration and responses to the issues raised will be summarised in a Consultation Report which will be published on www.water.ie/nwrp.   

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