Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca has welcomed recent news of progress with the development of water and wastewater schemes within County Wicklow. The Green Party councillor made her comments following a recent meeting of the council’s Water and Environmental Services Strategic Policy Committee, of which she is a member.

“I was delighted to hear that the issue of water supply is being properly addressed in the county” says de Burca. “I particularly welcome the new pump that has been provided to boost the supply to Enniskerry village from the connection with the Dublin City Council main on the Cookstown Road, in addition to the 5823 metres of new water main that will increase mains capacity in the area”.

The Green Party councillor says that Carrigoona, Killough, Rocky Valley, Ballybawn and Ballyorney, which were previously supplied from the Kilmolin reservoir, are now primarily supplied from the new pump house. “The council assures me that as a result of these works the severe difficulties experienced by way of lack of supply and poor pressure during the Spring and Summer months 2006 has largely been resolved” she says.

De Burca also welcomed the 4400 metres of distribution and rising water mains that have been laid in the Avoca/Ballinaclash area. “Pumps and pump houses have been provided and a new 1,200m³ capacity distribution reservoir at Ballymurtagh” she says. “I also note that the council is proposing to provide additional water treatment capacity at the existing treatment plant at Aughrim. This will allow for a total extra treatment capacity of 1555m³ per day. However, I am concerned about the Roundwood and Laragh areas where additional water sources are clearly needed and I am urging the council to address these areas as a matter of priority”.

De Burca says council officials informed her that the Wicklow Town Sewerage Scheme would start construction in July 2007 and that conditional approval of the Wicklow Water Supply was received by the council in July 2006. The Green Party councillor was very critical however of the decision by the Minister of the Environment to allow a water reservoir to proceed at Glending, Blessington, adjacent to the massive illegal dumps on Roadstone’s land.