Members of the Water Forum were hosted by Uisce Éireann and Veolia at the Vartry Water Treatment Plant.
Vartry Reservoir was constructed in the 1860s to tap the water supply in the Vartry river and provide a fresh supply of water for the growing population in Dublin City. A dam was constructed by manual labour, it has a clay core that prevents leakage and its upstream side is faced with stone to minimise erosion. The iconic granite Draw off Tower covers pipes conveys water from the reservoir to the treatment plant.
A 4km tunnel was constructed under Callowhill (workers starting at either end and meeting in the middle to an accuracy of 4mm) and a 40km trunk mains was built to deliver water to storage reservoirs in Stillorgan. This was all done manually using some dynamite, hand tools, horses and carts and many large steel pipes.
The key driver of this project was Dr John Gray a medical doctor who purchased the land to make sure the project could be progressed. He resold the land to the Corporation for the price he paid for it. He is commemorated by a statue on O’Connell Street Dublin today.
With continued population growth in the Dublin region a second reservoir was constructed in the early 1900 and completed in 1923 using machines and a lot of workers. This reservoir provides 12% of Dublin’s water to this day.
Uisce Éireann invested €150 in a water supply upgrade with a new water treatment plant, a new link pipeline from Vartry to Carrowhill and a new covered reservoir at Stillorgan. This upgrade brings this water supply up to the necessary standards and off the remedial action list.
These works were completed in 2021.
Members had a most informative visit and would like to thank Veolia and Uisce Éireann staff for hosting us so warmly.
