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IRISH WATER PLANS to spend €200 million upgrading the Vartry Water treatment plant after receiving planning permission from Wicklow County Council.
The upgrade comes as the Vartry water supply scheme and the Mid-Wicklow supplies have been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as being at risk of failing to meet the requirements of the national safe drinking water standards.
Irish Water have welcomed the decision by Wicklow County Council with project manager with Irish Water Geoff O’Sullivan stating, “We welcome this planning permission as an important step in securing the drinking water to the Vartry Water Supply area of north Wicklow and south Dublin.
“The scheme has had no major upgrade since it was built over 150 years ago and is now in need of urgent investment. Irish Water will invest up to €200 million in the upgrade of this priority project.”
Construction on the project is expected to start in late 2017, early 2018 and is expected to take 36 months to complete.
However, Social Democrats councillor Jennifer Whitmore of Greystones expressed disappointment that the project got planning permission. “I’m disappointed [the scheme] got planning permission without an environmental impact statement.
“I do understand the need for an upgrade of the system, but there is a need to balance this with environmental concerns.”
Needs more information
Cllr Whitmore went on to state that she wasn’t for or against the upgrade but a scheme of this size needs to have all the information available to make a full decision on the project.
Two groups in the area have been objecting to the upgrade to the Vartry water supply scheme on environmental grounds, the Vartry Anglers Conservation Club and River Vartry Protection Society.
Luke Drey of the Vartry Anglers Conservation Club said about the project, “It’s about responsible management of the river [Vartry] basin and [Irish Water] are looking to extract further water from the catchment”.
Mr Drey and the Vartry Anglers Conservation Club are concerned with the effects of extracting more water from the river might have on current fish stocks as well as on the ecology of the area.
Mr Drey said that this issue is strong within the community and they plan on taking their objections further, “We’re going to object to An Bord Pleanála, then to the judicial. the High Court, the Supreme Court and then to Europe if we have to” said Mr Drey.
In a statement released by Irish Water they have said that the project will not be abstracting any additional water from the River Vartry.
“Irish Water confirm they will not be abstracting any additional water from the River Vartry. The proposed works will improve the quality of drinking water from a plant that is 150 years old and meet current drinking water standards.
“The future operation of the water treatment plant will ensure that flows in the river downstream from the plant will have the added benefit of guaranteeing at least 5 million litres per day is always released to the river.”
No major upgrade in 150 years
The Vartry plant currently services over 200,000 people across north Wicklow and south Dublin, was constructed over 150 years ago and according to Irish Water has not received a major upgrade since it was built.
The upgrade will allow Irish Water to extend the supply network from Vartry to other areas in Mid-Wicklow including Rathdrum, Avoca, Annamoe, and Redcross among others.
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Putin’s evil has no boundaries
Russia will win this war. Like it or not, there’s no way you can beat a colossus. Why is there not a single mention of peace negotiations from EU leaders? Is it absolutely necessary to wait until winter or later for the inevitable Ukraine capitulation to happen and all the destruction that will ensue between now and then?
@Ordinary lad: Peace talks with Putin?
Yeah..of course thay will work..
Putin.. “I want all of Ukraine and all the other bits that were the ussr.”
EU and West allies… “ah, sure you should have said that earlier.. Sure, no problem old pal Vlad”…
There ya go… Peace.. Ffs..
@Ordinary lad: it’s not a colossus. It’s economy is smaller than that of Italy.
It’s not the Soviet Union anymore.
If that little **** didn’t have nukes it’d be over by now.
@Ordinary lad: “Russia will win this war. Like it or not, there’s no way you can beat a colossus.”
Nonsense. Russia lost in Afghanistan. The US lost in Vietnam.
@Seán Ó Briain: The USSR lost in Afghanistan and it was the Afghan war that bankrupted the USSR and was provably the major cause for the demise and collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.
@Ordinary lad: it is easy for Europe to sacrifice Ukrainian lives to try and win an unwinnable war…
@Ordinary lad: wrong wrong and wrong. Yeah it might drag on for a few years but the West are united. Either Russia or Putin end- thats the eventual outcome here
@Ordinary lad: ignorance is hard to bend. You are extraordinary… Eejit
@Ordinary lad: three words… ‘David and Goliath’.
Hmmmm…Afghanistan comes to mind!
@Ordinary lad: wow, praising the destruction and slaughter. I thought Russia was big enough for Putler. Glory to brave Ukrainian that are losing everything due to that lil behemoth
Sure Irish grain merchants and co-ops bought 6 loads of Russian grain or 100000 tonnes of it in June and now cut the Irish farmers grain by 70 euros per tonne. Plus had the cheek to increase the processed grain they sell to the cattle, pig and sheep farmers here. Out government allowed this to happen.
@Jim Casey: how can the government control prices
@Patrick O Connell: not allowing poisonous Russian grain in ffs
Read last night that Iran are to start supplying military grade drones to Russia. This is not good. Most third party countries who didn’t vote with the west up to now have been sitting on the fence.
If the Russians stay there til winter then Ukraine will probably have its energy cut off by them….the threat of genocide is very much a tool i think Putin will use.
–Heavy human casualties, devastated infrastructure, possibly complete loss of gas to Europe. What if Russia wins, either by a complete victory or a protracted war lasting a decade?
– We can expect heavier human casualties, greater devastation of infrastructure, continuing complete loss of gas to Europe. — Population exodus? Let’s not go there.
@Keth Warsaw: good synopsis of the worst effects of Putin sending 150000 troops over a sovereign border but end your statement with an appeal to not go there, well the Ukrainians are already there are you advocating a capitulation?
The west needs to sacrifice Ukraine. Somewhat of a nest poke. Negotiations with Russia is not the point. A conflict of massive proportions is the only way to hide the death of the dollar empire and reset the global order. Why do you think that Europe has been flooded with males of fighting age since 2015? Cannon fodder and a redrawing of borders. This will be a prolonged conflict where sabre rattling will and has to lead to a tactical nuclear attack by Russia as it runs out of conventional weapons and realises how hard the logistics are of a European conflict really are.
Who persuaded Zelenskyy to drop all his election promises…..and why.
@Fergus Quinlan: lol
@Fergus Quinlan: hey Fergus which broken promise was it, was it the half percent on vat or the missed deadline for introducing energy saving light bulbs. For the life of me I can’t figure out which one annoyed Putin so much he just had to send 150000 lads over a sovereign border, could you enlighten us you seem very knowledgeable on it…
@Fergus Quinlan: i don’t think you understand the scale of this massive harrowing and slaughter.
@Fergus Quinlan: I dont think you understand the scale of destruction and suffering Putin inlficted. History has proven how Hitlers end up.
How will this struggle for influence in the area of the former USSR end? In the Book of Revelation we read: “Another came out, a fiery-colored horse, and it was granted to the one seated on it to take peace away from the earth so that they should slaughter one another, and he was given a powerful sword.” (6:4) This will be a mutual slaughter and world war not only by name. And the great power sword will be used. Jesus characterized him in this way: “A frightening things both and extraordinary (related to unusual phenomena) from sky powerful will be.” (Luke 21:11) Because of the use of these terrible weapons there will be significant tremors along the length and breadth of the regions [of strategic importance] and famines, and pestilences. Some ancient manuscripts contain the words “and frosts”. The Aramaic Peshitta: “and will be great frosts”. (Luke 21:11) We call this today “nuclear winter”. In Mark 13:8 there are also words of Jesus: “and disorders” (in the sense of confusion and chaos). The Aramaic Peshitta: “and confusion” (on the state of public order). It won’t be Armageddon. “But all these things are a beginning of birth-pains.” (Matthew 24:8, DLNT) But before that, “at the appointed time [the king of the north] will return back.” (Daniel 11:29a) Not only Ukraine, but also many other countries of the former Eastern block will return to a military alliance with Russia.
@Ryszard Ewiak: Blessed are the cheesemakers
@Ryszard Ewiak: Them prophets must have been some shockingly boring lads to listen to speaking with a level of bombast not even David Norris can manage.
@Ryszard Ewiak: what?
@C: what’s so special about them?
@Pat Barry: It’s not meant to be taken literally. It refers to any manufacturer of dairy products. ;)
@Ryszard Ewiak: Think your over-analysing the book of revelations. Those same prophecies are equally applicable to the Saipan/prawn sandwich saga.
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