€3m water tower 'leaks like a sieve'
A PRIZE-winning water tower that cost €2.7m is "leaking like a sieve", it has been claimed.
Construction of the five million- litre tower in west Dublin was completed nearly three years ago but it remains empty because water is seeping out.
Fingal County Council is refusing to accept its handover because it does not comply with the requirements of the contract specification.
Bizarrely, though the project, which also includes a reservoir, administration building and chlorination building was awarded the Local Authority Members Association (LAMA) prize for best Civil Engineering Project in 2008.
The situation has been criticised by one local representative who claims the tower is leaking like a sieve.
“This is not new technology; water towers have been built for over 150 years,” said Cllr Keiran Dennison. The 34-metre high structure was part of the Leixlip-Ballycoolin Water Supply Scheme and was designed to provide security of supply and boost water pressure to north Co Dublin, parts of Dublin city and Co Meath.
“The fact that the tower does not do what it was built to do means that Fingal County Council must pay more to pump water to industries in Blanchardstown,” fumed Cllr Dennison.
However, a council spokesperson denied that the structure is leaking as badly as suggested by the councillor.
“Although the tower appears to hold water as it was designed to do, a number of leaks are visible on the outer wall of the tower. Since late 2007, at the Council's request, the contractor has attempted unsuccessfully to fix this problem,” said a spokesperson.
“Our sole objective at this stage is to ensure this contract is fully completed and any disputes resolved with no loss of public money.”
It is expected that remedial works will start this month and finish in October.
