Infrastructure (Water/Wastewater and Environmental Services)

The availability of high quality infrastructure networks and environmental services will play a key role in securing economic development, creating sustainable and attractive places, in ensuring health and wellbeing and in safe guarding the environment. While Carlow County Council is not directly responsible for all aspects of infrastructure provision, the County Development Plan 2022-2028 will provide the framework to facilitate infrastructure planning for the county.

Drinking Water and Wastewater

Since January 2014 Irish Water has responsibility for the development and operation of public water services in Ireland. Investment in new or additional capacity in water services will be informed by national, regional and local planning policy and addressed through Irish Water’s Capital Investment Plans. Carlow County Council currently delivers an average of just over 14,000m3 of drinking water per day from the twelve treatment plants operated on behalf of Irish Water. Water supplies in the county are sourced from surface water abstraction points with the principal sources being the River Burren and the River Slaney and groundwater supplies. Long term investment is required in the upgrading of the North Regional Water Supply Scheme at Rathvilly and the replacement of the trunk main from Rathvilly to the main population centres. The proposed upgraded Moate Reservoir Site, Rathvilly (Knockevagh Td) reservoir is of strategic significance to County Carlow and will provide for 24-hour storage of drinking water. The water network programme throughout the county also includes various projects for decommissioning of old mains, the upgrade and / or replacement of watermains as appropriate. Works completed to-date have addressed water leakage in several areas in the county and have contributed to a significant reduction in required water distribution input. Wastewater treatment (Irish Water assets) is provided through twenty-four waste water treatment plants within the county. The main population centres (i.e. Carlow Town, Tullow and Muinebheag/ Bagenalstown) are serviced by wastewater treatment infrastructure, all of which require upgrade.

These comprise;

• Mortarstown (Carlow) wastewater treatment plant - capacity 36,000 PE. Planned upgrade to 58,000 PE.
• Tullow wastewater treatment plant -capacity 5,442 PE. Planned upgrade to 9,200 PE
• Bagenalstown wastewater treatment plant - capacity 5,000 PE. Planned upgrade to 9,200 PE.

Many of the smaller towns and villages have inadequate or insufficient capacity and investment is required to ensure the sustainable development of these areas into the future.

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS)

Surface water drainage is the responsibility of the Council. All new development applications must account for how the surface water run off will be managed on development sites. As such, the County Council aims to control runoff from such sites through Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS). SuDS aims to contain surface waters on site for gradual release back to watercourses or public drainage systems. SuDS thereby reduces the rate and quantity of surface water run off and also improves water quality by removing pollutants in surface water from developed sites by replicating, as closely as possible a ‘greenfield’ situation. It is however important to follow best practice, including the use of “treatment trains” and a number of SuDS techniques. Use of oil interceptors should be considered where appropriate, to ensure that surface water runoff does not increase flood or pollution risk, both of which negatively impact on watercourses and downstream developments. The use of SuDS will become more important as predicted climate change scenarios take effect.

Waste

Carlow is located in the Southern Waste Management Region, governed by the Waste Management Plan 2015 – 2021. Waste Management is heavily regulated by National and European Legislation with policy and enforcement operated between the Department, the EPA and Local Government. There are many challenges in Waste Management including:-

Carlow County Council also provides an educational and awareness role among various different groups and operates the Green Schools Programme to promote Environmental Education from a young age.

Energy Infrastructure

The supply and distribution of electricity and gas throughout County Carlow is an important factor in the provision and location of employment and the creation of sustainable communities. The Council will continue to work along side key energy providers in facilitating the future development of networks throughout the county. The Council is also cognisant of National Policy which seeks to promote renewable energy use and generation at appropriate locations within the built and natural environment to meet national objectives towards achieving a low carbon economy by 2050. The County Development Plan will provide for the sustainable development of energy infrastructure throughout the county subject to appropriate planning and environmental considerations

Telecommunications and Broadband

The provision of telecommunications and broadband has been fully driven by commercial interests, this will change under the National Broadband Plan (NBP), a government led initiative to deliver high-speed broadband to all premises in Ireland.

This NBP will be achieved through investment by telecoms companies and a state intervention to bring access to high-speed broadband to locations where commercial investment is not guaranteed. Carlow, like all rural counties has a rural-urban divide for high speed broadband services which has left rural communities disadvantaged for their living and working requirements. In Q3 2019, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment indicated that there were;

• 8,088 premises identified in Carlow as target areas for state intervention under the National Broadband Plan.
• 19,948 premises identified in Carlow as areas where commercial operators are delivering or have indicated plans to deliver high speed broadband services.
• 68 premises where eir has committed to commercial rural deployment plans to rollout high speed broadband.

The availability of high quality broadband is necessary to support sustainable economic development.