Plans for a new state-of-the-art water treatment facility in Whitegate, Co Cork, have reached a landmark milestone.

A site has been acquired for the project, which will see Irish Water and Cork County Council provide a multi-million-euro investment that will put an end to the frequent boil water notices that the community has had to endure.

The proposed works will include decommissioning of the old water treatment and building a new state-of-the-art water treatment plant, a new coagulation, flocculation and clarification system, a new filtration system and a new disinfection system. 

Water Operations Lead for Irish Water, Pat Britton said: "We are delighted to be progressing with the long-term plans for Whitegate. To have this land agreement completed in such a short timeframe is an indication of how much of a priority this project is for Irish Water. Along with our colleagues in Cork County Council, we wish to thank everyone in Whitegate for their patience and co-operation. This has been a very frustrating time for the community as we have had to put Boil Water Notices in place to protect the health of the community."

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Last week Irish Water's Operations and Infrastructure Delivery teams invited Councillors and TDs in East Cork to a briefing on the status of the ongoing operations and maintenance works at the current plant, and an overview of future plans for the Whitegate Public Water Supply Scheme.

Regional Infrastructure Delivery Lead for Irish Water, Ian O'Neill added: "We understand the need to keep everyone in the area updated while we progress the project. We recently met with some of the elected representatives in East Cork where we outlined the plans for the project. We hope to have a detailed design completed by the end of 2022. We are targeting early 2023 for the submission of a planning application to Cork County Council, if required, and all going to plan, we hope to start construction in early 2024 with a completion time expected in late 2025. A project of this scale would traditionally have a turnaround time of seven plus years from concept design through to completion, we aim to have it completed in a much shorter timeframe.

"As we have said throughout this process, there is a possibility that we may have to re-issue more Boil Water Notices if the raw water deteriorates or we get a bad spell of adverse weather.

"We look forward to working with our colleagues in Cork County Council and the local community on delivering this vital project in the years to come."