'Water could run dry' without spur from Parteen Basin

Fears that Lough Owel is being over-stretched in its capacity as reservoir for a large part of Westmeath were not completely allayed for councillors when the topic arose for discussion at the July meeting of Westmeath County Council.

Cllr Tom Farrell, drawing attention to the fact that there have been a number of breakdowns in terms of supply recently, said his fear was that, because of the pressure on the lake, the day might even arise that water might have to be delivered to the hospital, or that some areas would have to have their water supply cut off – unless something is done.

Cllr Farrell went on to express concern that the plan to bring water from the river Shannon at Parteen Basin does not currently seem to provide for a supply to the midlands.

He warned that the situation is getting serious: “The way it’s going at the moment it’s going to get scarcer and scarcer – especially with all the building as well,” he said. Adding to the pressure on the lake supplies was the fact that the Royal Canal is fed from Lough Owel.

“Maybe we could look at that again to see could there be something done to take water from Lough Ennell rather than from Lough Owel,” he said.

Referring to the fact that Mullingar has been under a conservation notice for most of the summer because the levels in Lough Owel didn’t recover over the winter period, Barry Kehoe, chief executive of the council, said there were grounds for looking at an alternative water source for the canal, since as the law stands, the supply to the canal has priority over the public water requirements.

Mr Kehoe went on to point out that the government infrastructure priorities include a new water supply for Dublin from the Parteen weir coming through the midlands and feeding into the water supply system for the greater Dublin area: “What I’m pushing for – actively – is that a spur from that would feed Mullingar,” he said.

He added that he has also been hoping that such as spur would be delivered as part of the phase one works.

“That’s certainly the objective from our perspective, because I would be worried that if it’s not in the phase one works, then when might it be delivered?” he said.

Because of the situation with Lough Owel and the fact that there are no longer guarantees that it will recover over the winter, it was important that a spur was built at the earliest possible date.

“It’s also required for environmental reasons because Lough Owel is a really important habitat in the Mullingar area: it has a protected species of crayfish there – it’s one of the most important reservoirs for crayfish in Europe – and has lots of other environmental designations,” he said.

Cllr Farrell stated that he was not confident any spur to this area would be provided in the first phase of the plan to source water from Parteen: “I’ve taken this up with Minister Peter Burke and while there’s talk about a spur, on the maps I’ve seen so far, all there is a supply from Shannon to Dublin and there is no spur off at the moment for Westmeath,” he stated. Mr Kehoe agreed that at present, the midland spur is not part of the Phase One plan. Cllr Farrell proposed that the council write to the department emphasising the need for it.

“It’s the whole of Westmeath you’re talking about here,” he said. “It’s not just Mullingar: you’re talking about Moate, Ballymore, Loughnavalley, Mount Temple, Ballynacargy – you name it. Lough Owel is supplying the whole county, so it’s urgent.

“Actually,” he continued, “it’s a serious situation so I propose that we would write a letter.”

Cllr Johnnie Penrose seconded that proposal.

Cllr Denis Leonard shared Cllr Farrell’s concerns, and said when the Parteen scheme was first proposed about 15 years ago, there was a spur to the midlands.

“I think they need to revert to the original planning they had on that,” he said, adding that it should also be possible to find an alternative source of water for the canal.

Sewerage capacity

Meanwhile, a query voiced by Cllr Mick Dollard at the same meeting was on whether the council executive was satisfied that there is adequate water and sewerage capacity in Mullingar to cater for future development. To that, Mr Kehoe said that at the moment there is not an issue with sewerage, or capacity around wastewater conveyance of treatment. “Obviously it’s a matter for Uisce Éireann, but that’s the best advice that we have,” he said.