Municipal District: 17 July 2020

Question: Can the council clarify why it regards Ballygoran stream not to be a source of drinking water as outlined in the response to motion at the February meeting when the Environmental Protection Agency has marked the stream as a protected drinking water source (EU_PA_Code:IEPA1_EA_09L011900), given that this designation has implications for development sites, road maintenance works and the effective functioning of the Leixlip Wastewater Treatment Plant?

Report: The report to the February 2020 meeting stated that the Ballygoran Stream was not a source of drinking water for 600,000 people – in other words, it would be inaccurate to say that 600,000 people depend on the Ballygoran Stream for their water supply. The Ballygoran Stream is one of a large number of streams which discharge to the river Liffey, which in turn feed the Leixlip Reservoir. The Leixlip Water Treatment Plant, which provides clean drinking water to approximately 600,000 people across the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), sources its supply from the Leixlip Reservoir directly, and not from the Ballygoran Stream. Irish Water in conjunction with Fingal County Council is responsible for the maintenance of the Water Treatment Plant, and any queries in relation to the water supply or the protection of the supply source should be forwarded to Irish Water.

Issued by: Mr C Flynn, Senior Executive Engineer, Environment Department.

Discussion and outcome: Councillor Liston stated that as the Ballygoran Stream feeds into the Leixlip Reservoir which is a source of drinking water, that was the reason that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had a protection code on this water source. Councillor Liston asked how the council would protect the Ballygoran Stream from receiving all the dirt and silt which would be washed off trucks used during the construction phase of the Strategic Housing Development.

Mr Fagan stated that he would seek clarification on this matter from the Senior Executive Engineer for Councillor Liston.
The report was noted.