Image by Stillorgan Reservoir on Flickr.
Irish Water plans to spend €80 million upgrading the Stillorgan Reservoir.
Josepha Madigan, Fine Gael TD for the Rathdown area, made a statement on Wednesday March 3rd listing the benefits that will come with the updated reservoir. These will include the provision of urban space that will be both useful for residents and beautiful to look upon.
“Irish Water has announced plans to spend €80 million upgrading Stillorgan Reservoir, which is one of the last remaining open reservoirs in Europe. The project is now at pre-planning and public consultation stage.
“The 150 year old, open air, three reservoir complex, provides drinking water for 200,000 people across south Dublin. It borders Sandyford Business district, which employs thousands of people and is home to thousands more, and is situated beside the Stillorgan and Sandyford Luas stops.
“The upgrading proposal by Irish Water is to drain one of the reservoirs and build a new covered reservoir on that site. When the new covered reservoir is fully operational then the other two reservoirs will be drained and landscaped. Irish Water has now launched a six week public consultation process.
“I have contacted Irish Water about this proposed development and I’m inviting all members of the community to set out their views on how the site should be developed. I would encourage everyone to think big in relation to how this site can be utilised once the covered reservoir is built and the reservoirs are drained. I am sure that people have lots of ideas. I’m sure that a drained reservoir could be transformed into a beautiful urban space, which could be used for activities such as sport and urban theatre. It would also provide a central hub for the community.
“I believe that the unused drained reservoirs could be transformed into something both beautiful and useful for the residents of Stillorgan and Sandyford and I look forward to the public consultation process.”
By Kevin Carney
