Contracts signed to build new Enfield reservoir

The solution to the water crisis that has plagued Enfield over the past year has moved a step closer with news that the contract to build a new reservoir has been signed.

When completed, the new reservoir will have the capacity to store 300,000 litres of treated drinking water supplied from Enfield Water Treatment Plant, delivering up to an additional eight hours of water supply in the event of an interruption at the treatment plant.

Irish Water is investing €1.5m in the project, which will involve the construction of a new 300,000 litre covered, treated water storage, a new pumping station to pump treated water into the supply and the construction of associated pipelines on site to connect to the new reservoir.

The contract has been awarded to Coffey Water Ltd and construction will begin in the first quarter of this year and is expected to be completed by the third quarter.

News that the reservoir will soon commence construction will be widely welcomed in Enfield where residents have had to deal with regular outages over the past year with one local resident estimating in November, that there had been 26 outages in the previous three months alone.

Frustration built up over the course of last year with some residents threatening to withhold local property tax (LPT) and local authority rents in protest at the constant water outages.

Commenting on the €1.5m project, Ivan Corcoran, Asset Delivery Regional Lead with Irish Water said: “We are looking forward to delivering this much needed water storage reservoir for the people of Enfield. The new reservoir will store 300,000 litres of treated drinking water supplied from Enfield Water Treatment Plant and provide a more secure water supply for homes and businesses in the event of planned or unplanned disruptions at the treatment plant.”

Paul Kelly, Senior Executive Engineer, Meath County Council Water Services, added: “This is an important project for Enfield. The investment in local water infrastructure will see the construction of a new treated water storage reservoir benefiting homes and businesses across Enfield by creating a safer, more reliable water supply. Irish Water and Meath County Council are continuing to work to minimise any further disruptions impacting customers.”

Cllr Noel French welcomed the news saying that it was good news for the people of Enfield but that a second reservoir was needed to guarantee 16 hours supply and he looked forward to that being delivered next year.

"The people of Enfield suffered very badly last year from outages and this work will give an eight hour supply when completed later this year."