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Turning the sod were Cathaoirleach Kerry CoCo Cllr. Michael O’Shea, left, Damien English TD, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal, Centre, and Jerry Grant, Managing Director Irish Water, right. Photo by Valerie O’Sullivan
THE sod was turned today to mark the start of construction of a new water treatment plant on Lough Guitane in Central Kerry to a wide area in Kerry, including Tralee.
Minister of State for Housing and Urban Renewal, Damien English, TD, did the honours as the new water treatment plant is being built as part of a €30 million investment by Irish Water in the Kerry Central Regional Water Supply Scheme.
Over 62,000 people depend on the water supply scheme on a regular basis which feeds nine water supply zones all of which are currently on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Remedial Action List (RAL) due to lack of adequate water treatment facilities.
The works being carried out will result in the provision of robust water treatment facilities, which will ensure a safe and secure water supply for residents, industry, agriculture and tourism in the area. Glan Agua, are the appointed contractor carrying out the design and construction works on behalf of Irish Water, with engineering services provided by Nicholas O’ Dwyer and work to date completed by Kerry County Council.
The Kerry Central Regional Water Supply Scheme currently abstracts raw water from Lough Guitane but does not have an effective treatment system that incorporates a cryptosporidium barrier. The €30 million investment will ensure that the required treatment processes are in place by December 2017 with full completion of the project by mid-2018. This will allow for the removal of over 62,000 people from the RAL.
The new plant will provide 51 million litres of water per day to the communities of Central Kerry including Tralee, Killarney, Castleisland and Castlemaine in addition to an extensive rural area across the county.
Further to this investment in Kerry, Irish Water is also progressing with upgrades in the water supplies of Kenmare, Kilgarvan, Templenoe, Lauragh, Mountain Stage and addressing disinfection risks in other vulnerable treatment plants. Significant rehabilitation works in water mains are also progressing with over 40km of deficient pipes already replaced.
This project forms part of Irish Water’s investment plan where over €530 million will be invested in upgrading services in 2016 to improve the country’s water and wastewater infrastructure. The Irish Water Business Plan has earmarked almost €2 billion in improving wastewater quality and capacity up to 2021.
