Lough Ree"s water is safe as Dublin eyes up Lough Derg

Controversial plans to extract 350 million litres of water per day from Lough Ree to supply Dublin with an improved water service appear to have been scuttled. A key report from Dublin City Council released last week rated the option of abstracting water from Lough Derg coupled with storage in the midlands appears the favoured option at this stage. The Lough Ree proposal, first revealed in the Westmeath Independent, had sparked outrage locally - with lobby groups campaigning intensifely against the plans. The report Water Supply Project - Dublin Region Draft Plan says the option of taking water from Lough Derg with storage came up trumps on three of the six criteria used. The abstraction from Lough Derg alone, without storage, was not as positive, but again received no negative ratings. Abstraction from Lough Ree, which had previously been considered a preferred option, did not fare as well in Dublin City Council"s report, falling down in the environmental stakes. It was, however, the cheapest option at €577m, but is unlikely to go ahead after receiving two major negative ratings in the area of the environment. It is also anticipated this option would have a negative impact on socio-economic activities in the locality, such as tourism and angling. The abstraction of water from Lough Ree, coupled with storage at a bog, favoured marginally better than abstraction alone, receiving only one negative rating - for its effect on habitats. Another real contender is abstraction from Parteen Basin below Ardnacrusha, the only negative of this option being the cost. The latest report has been welcomed by the Shannon Protection Alliance (SPA), which has been actively opposing the proposal to abstract water from Lough Ree since the plans first came about. The draft plan is now out for public consultation and a final preferred option will be chosen next year. A new technical report or draft plan released by Dublin City Council at the weekend shows the abstraction of water from Lough Derg and storage of it at a bog as the favoured option to supply water to the Greater Dublin Area. While a preferred option will not be selected by the council until the latter part of next year, Lough Derg has come up trumps on three of the six criteria examined, with absolutely no negatives, putting it ahead of the other nine options. The Water Supply Project - Dublin Region Draft Report eliminated two of the ten options; groundwater and the Liffey-Barrow, as they cannot provide the required strategic quanities of water. The other options examined by the council were the abstraction of water from Lough Derg; the abstraction of water from Lough Ree; the abstraction of water from Lough Ree with storage; asbtraction from Lough Ree and Lough Derg combined; absraction from Lough Ree/Lough Derg and impoundment; abstraction from Parteen Basin and desalination. The abstraction of water from Lough Ree (without storage), which at €577m was the cheapest option, had two major positives in its favour - infrastructure and the cost, but it fell down in the environmental stakes and received two major negative ratings for the Strategic Environmental Assessment and the Habitats Directive. Sourcing water from Lough Ree was also seen as a negative as a change in the sluice gates, which would require widespread stakeholder agreement, would be needed in order to comply with ESB regulation levels. In the socio-economic area the abstraction of water from Lough Ree was seen to have a negative impact on navigation, tourism, agriculture, angling, the local economy and flooding. The abstraction of water from Lough Ree, coupled with storage at a bog, favoured marginally better than abstraction alone, receiving a generally positive rating for infrastructure, a positive rating in the Strategic Environmental Assessment, neutral ratings for source, cost and its effect on socio-economic activities, while receieving only one negative rating - for its effect on habitats. The abstraction of water from Lough Derg with storage came up trumps on three of the six criteria, receiving three major positives in terms of the source of the water, the Strategic Environmental Assessment and socio-economic activities. The infrastructure was seen as a positive, while it would have no significant impact on habitats in the area and the cost of this option received a neutral rating. The abstraction from Lough Derg alone, without storage, was not as positive, but again received no negative ratings. The source, infrastructure, cost and effect on socio-economic activities were all seen as positives while there would be no significant impact on the environment or habitats in the area. The abstraction of water from Lough Ree in phase one and Lough Derg in phase two did not rate very well, with the cost of this option seen as the only positive. The effect this option would have on habitats in the area was viewed as a major negative by Dublin City Council, while the source, the Strategic Environmental Assessment and the impact on socio-economic activities all received a negative rating. The infrastructure was seen as a neutral by the council. It"s unlikely the abstraction of water from Lough Ree/Lough Derg and impoundment will be seriously considered as this option received three major negative ratings, two negative ratings and one neutral rating. Likewise desalination didn"t fare too well, receiving one major negative rating, four negative ratings and one neutral rating. The abstraction of water from Parteen Basin received a major positive rating for source and positive ratings in the Strategic Environmental Assessment and for its impact on socio-economic activities, while it received neutral ratings for infrastructure and impact on habitats, but cost was seen as a negative factor. The option to abstract water from Lough Derg and store it at a bog received the most positive ratings of the options explored, but will cost some €100m more than the abstraction of water from Lough Ree, previously seen as the preferred option. However, abstraction from Parteen Basin is also a real contender, with cost being the only obstacle. The draft report is now available for inspection by the public at www.watersupplyproject-dublinregion.ie and Dublin City Council is inviting the public to give their views on the options before February 27 of next year.