‘Conflicting interests’ on Owel water supply

Brian O’Loughlin

There is concern locally about the quantities of water flowing from Lough Owel to the Royal Canal given the Water Conservation Order that was imposed nationally on Friday.

Gearóid Ó Brádaigh, one of the trustees of Mullingar Sailing Club and a long-time member, contacted the Westmeath Examiner to highlight the situation at the shore near the club, where the supply line to the canal is fed from the lake.

Speaking in the middle of last week, he said the water level had retreated five to six feet (on the horizontal), in as many days, “which is an extraordinary drop”.

“It would appear there are conflicting interests between Uisce Éireann and Waterways Ireland, and they’re both statutory bodies. We have one statutory body that’s saying we have to have a conservation order in relation to the use of domestic water – that we can’t use it for washing cars and various other domestic activities – and then we have another body which says, well, we have the right to extract water at the rate of thousands of litres per minute, as we see fit.

“That seems to me to be a completely bizarre situation, that somebody in some higher authority has to address, to come to some form of agreed reconciliation on it.

“One of the fundamental questions is, ‘why are you releasing thousands of litres of water per minute when we are trying to say to people don’t water your garden and don’t wash your car?’.”

In an attempt to find out more, the Westmeath Examiner contacted Uisce Éireann and Waterways Ireland. A spokesperson for Uisce Éireann confirmed that water for the canal is the responsibility of Waterways Ireland.

Waterways Ireland sent this statement in response to the queries.

Waterways Ireland statement: “The Royal Canal has been supplied by water from Lough Owel since its construction over 200 years ago. Lough Owel is the primary water source for the summit level of the Royal Canal, this water supply is required to maintain the navigable status of the Royal Canal and to maintain the survivability of the fish stocks in the canal.

"Lough Owel also supplies water to Uisce Éireann for the town of Mullingar. Uisce Éireann and Waterways Ireland work together closely to ensure the sustainable extraction of water from Lough Owel. The recent dry weather has put pressure on the water supply from Lough Owel, Waterways Ireland will continue to work closely with Uisce Éireann regarding water supply management.”

Another local man, Paul Connolly, who walks the canal line in and near Mullingar several days a week, has highlighted the quantity of water running from the canal into and through the dry dock at Mullingar Harbour.

Anyone who passes that area or other locks on the canal will know that they are not completely water tight, but the amount of water going through is normally not much more than a trickle. More recently, it is flowing strongly and steadily through the dry dock.

Paul estimates the quantity at 36,000 litres a day. He admits that is no more than an educated guess, but says he has some experience in engineering and stands over his estimate.

The problem is that the canal water supply is the same as the domestic water supply – Lough Owel – and it makes no sense to have a conservation order if large quantities of water are allowed to escape the system. The water that flows through the dry dock makes its ways to the River Brosna, so it’s not wasted, but it makes no sense to deplete the lake level unnecessarily when there is a conservation order in place.

Reinforcing his point, Gearóid Ó Brádaigh added: “We know that for almost a full year between 2024 and 2025, they had the sluice (on the canal supply line at Mullally’s house) open fully all winter, and when we arrived into the spring of 2025, the lake was at a record low.

“Then the lake did not replenish itself so that for the summer of 2025, it was at critically low levels because the sluice had been left open all winter. And in almost a knee-jerk reaction to that, the sluice was virtually closed. It was open one or two notches for the entire year, to the extent that the water came up to such a level that it was actually in danger of flooding the sailing club earlier in the year.”

He said club representatives contacted Irish Water in relation to that and says water was released at the other end of the lake so that the clubhouse wouldn’t flood.

“Then, inexplicably, at the start of the dry spell some weeks ago, Waterways Ireland opened the sluice to an extent that was tenfold what it had been for the entire year up to date.

“There is a cross-purpose working here. It is not satisfactory to say to the community you now have to tighten your belt and you now have to do A, B and C. But we’ve got a state agency that can do whatever they like, and they’re answerable to nobody.”

Cullion fish farm

As the fish farm at Cullion also takes water from the supply line, we sought a statement from them. It reads: “Inland Fisheries Ireland’s Cullion fish farm is connected to the Royal Canal feeder inflow from Lough Owel. The fish farm has a gravity-fed flow-through system and does not consume water. Water passes through the farm from the Royal Canal feeder inflow, and then flows out into the Brosna River.”