By Eoin Ryan
Windmill hill reservoir in East Meath has begun its upgrade of watermains and its reservoir after consistent water outages in the local community.
Construction began on 7 November after the sod turning ceremony attended by Minister Thomas Byrne, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien, and Minister for Justice Helen McEntee.
“Today is a positive step in delivering an efficient, consistent and reliable water supply to the people of Ratoath,” Minister Thomas Byrne said.
“I fully appreciate how frustrating and inconvenient these ongoing outages have been for the community. However, I am pleased to say that that the new and long-awaited plan will now be commenced by Irish Water armed with funding from Central Government.
“On completion, this significant project of works will end the series of outages and low-pressure issues which have afflicted the community of Ratoath for far too long.”
Works are based on a €11.8 million contract with the goal to provide a more reliable water supply for Ratoath, Kilbride and Ashbourne.
“The Windmill Hill Reservoir and Trunk Watermain to Ratoath project is just one of a number of strategically important projects to increase the security and resilience of the drinking water supply across County Meath,” Councillor Sharon Tolan said in a Facebook post regarding the start of construction.
Meath South East News 