There will be no capacity for any new homes in Dublin in fewer than three years if a key wastewater project is not delivered, Uisce Éireann has said in its starkest warning yet on water constraints.
The utility has been cautioning in recent weeks about the impact of water treatment constraints on housing supply after the Government changed its target to 303,000 new homes by 2030.
However, it has now said that “by 2028 Uisce Éireann may be unable to grant new connections to the wastewater network in parts of the Greater Dublin Area”.
The Greater Dublin Drainage (GDD) project is a €1.3 billion wastewater treatment facility that will serve half a million people in north Dublin and parts of Meath and Kildare.
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It was first proposed more than 20 years ago and was granted planning permission in 2019. However, this was quashed by the High Court in 2020 and it is now back with An Bord Pleanála for the last 11 months.
Delays to the project have meant the price has doubled and the tendering process for its construction has had to collapse. It is understood the project will take five years to complete once planning permission is granted.
Although interventions can be made to increase the capacity of the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant, there is no guarantee of capacity there for the increasing growth in housing connections that the Government has committed to.
[ Analysis: How vital water project stalled for years over minor paperwork issueOpens in new window ]
In this case, it is likely that the utility provider faces two options: either to stop new connections, or to ignore the discharge licence requirement at Ringsend and risk more frequent spills of unfiltered water into the Irish Sea.
Following a briefing with The Irish Times in recent days, Uisce Éireann said the project is “critical” to cater for the growth required in the Greater Dublin Area.
The Irish Times previously reported the utility company had warned Dublin City Council that future population growth in the city is “dependent” on the construction of the new sewage plant.
In a follow-up statement, Uisce Éireann said: “The GDD is required to be delivered by 2032 to ensure wastewater treatment capacity in the Dublin area is not exceeded.
“To meet this time frame, the design and tender process for the project needs to be progressed . . . Uisce Éireann is currently waiting for further details from An Bord Pleanála on the timeline for its decision.”
All new connection requests to the wastewater network are now being assessed on a case-by-case basis, and the utility company is facilitating housing connections “in so far as possible” in the short to medium term.
It is doing this by upgrading the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment Plant and “accelerating interim capital measures across the network” in Dublin.
However, without the completion of the Greater Dublin Drainage project, its “ability to cater for ongoing growth is limited”, Uisce Éireann said.
“By 2028 Uisce Éireann may be unable to grant new connections to the wastewater network in parts of the Greater Dublin Area,” the utility company said.
The need for a new wastewater treatment facility in Dublin was first established in a report published in 2005 called the Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study.
At that time, it was recognised that the capacity of the Ringsend plant was limited, and a new regional plant and orbital sewer were needed.
The GDD project was started in 2011 by Fingal County Council, with the site selected in 2013, and was lodged for planning permission in 2019.
There were more than 14,000 objections from local residents, and public hearings on the plans were held before An Bord Pleanála later that year.
Although it was granted planning permission in 2019, that was later quashed and returned to An Bord Pleanála after a High Court judge ruled the board failed to correctly seek observations of the Environmental Protection Agency . That case was taken by a local sea swimmer who was concerned about the impact on water quality in Portmarnock.
A consultation on further Uisce Éireann information closed 11 months ago, and the utility is still waiting on a timeline for the planner’s eventual decision.
