Over the next decade, water supply projects will upgrade treatment plants, build new trunk mains, and install new strategic water storage facilities.
It has been stated that this is essential in order for water infrastructure to keep up with the growing population.
The preferred long term solution is to bring water from the River Shannon to the eastern regions of the country, however that project may take until the 2030's. According to a report in RTE, the current challenge is to bring drinking water to homes, communities businesses and essential services across Louth, Meath, Kildare, Dublin and Wicklow.
Uisce Éireann's Regional Water Operations Manager for the Eastern Region, Stephen Burke, told RTE that one of the main issues in the system is resilience.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, he said "We expect massive population increase over the coming years. We do have an ageing network that we're investing heavily in bringing up to speed."
One of the projects focused providing resilience-the Water for Growth program launched at the Leixlip Water Treatment Plant today. "These are part of an overall national capital investment programme in excess of €12bn in water infrastructure across the country over the next 10 years, primarily treatment plant upgrades, reservoir enhancements and network upgrades," Burke said.
He explained that a lot of their projects are already in train. "We're nearing completion of phase two, and we have another number of phases yet to complete," he said.
