Whitegate Water Treatment Plant Upgrade

Uisce Éireann is progressing plans for a major upgrade of Whitegate Water Treatment Plant.

Uisce Éireann, working in partnership with Cork County Council, has commenced works to improve the Whitegate Regional Public Water Supply with a major upgrade of Kilva Water Treatment Plant. This investment will ensure a safe, secure, and reliable supply of drinking water to approximately 10,300 people in the region. Glanua has been appointed to deliver these works on behalf of Uisce Éireann. 

The water source is Dower Spring, near Castlemartyr and is pumped to the Whitegate Water Treatment Plant at Kilva some 9km away. The Spring is situated in Karst Limestone and considered highly vulnerable to elevated turbidity levels. As a result, the water supply has been added to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Remedial Action List (RAL) and has been subject to a number of Boil Water Notices in recent years.

This project will address risks to water quality by providing enhanced treatment facilities at a brand-new water treatment plant adjacent to the existing plant.

• Provision of a new 6,000,000 litre/day water treatment plant, on a site adjacent to the existing plant and reservoir.
• Construction of a new 450,000 litre raw water balancing tank.
• A new coagulation, flocculation and clarification system.
• A new filtration system with rapid gravity filters.
• Ultraviolet (UV) Disinfection - including two new UV reactors.
• Construction of a new clear water tank.
• All associate buildings, control and ancillary items.
• Decommissioning of the existing water treatment plant.

• Ensure a reliable water supply for 10,300 people in the region;
• Improve the quality of the water being supplied to Whitegate and surrounding areas;
• Enable the removal of the Whitegate Public Water Supply from the EPA's Remedial Action List (RAL);
• Address the persistent Boil Water Notices on the supply.
• Ensure compliance with National and EU drinking water regulations.

Construction has commenced and the project is due for completion in 2026.
We will endeavor to keep stakeholders updated as this project progresses.

Uisce Éireann would like to remind customers supplied by Whitegate Public Water Supply, 
that the Boil Water Notice continues to remain in place. 
We recognise the significant inconvenience this causes to impacted customers 
and would like to thank everyone for their patience and ongoing support
while we advance this critical project for the benefit of the community.