Irish water has turned the sod on a €29 million project to replace an unstable tunnel in Co Wicklow which carries water to parts of Dublin. The tunnel which is large enough to contain a small car dates form the 1860s and links the Vartry reservoir to 40 kilometres of trunk water mains which currently supplies about 15 per cent of drinking water for the greater Dublin area. The Vartry scheme and the Callow Hill tunnel were originally advocated by physician and politician Sir John Gray, who persuaded Dublin Corporation to provide a safe and reliable water supply to the region. Irish Water said the new pipeline will secure water supplies for 200,000 people. Jerry Grant, managing director of Irish Water said when completed, the upgrades would ensure that water standards were complied with and the scheme would be removed from the EPA’s remedial action list.

Source: The Irish Times January 22, 2018 22:52 UTC