New Geography in Action Junior Cycle Geography CASE STUDY Local water supply: Limerick City
The water in the taps all around Limerick City comes from the River Shannon, but before it gets to people’s homes it has to be treated so it is safe to drink.
Limerick City and County Council produces 60 million litres of potable water each day in its water treatment plant. This water is taken from the river at Clareville and Clonlara.
: Figure 4.4 Water treatment plant in Limerick
Filtering The water goes through filters to take out any bacteria and viruses.
Adding chemicals
A number of chemicals are then added to the water. Chlorine is added to make sure the water is clean. Fluoride is added to help stop tooth decay. Storage
The water is then pumped to storage reservoirs in Castletroy which store up to 75 million litres at any one time. From there it flows through mains (the largest pipes) to Limerick City and into distribution pipes supplying homes, businesses and other users.
In 2017, Irish Water invested €6.6 million in a project to improve this water distribution network by replacing and fixing old water mains around Limerick City.
Waste water
Waste water is treated at the Castletroy Waste Water Treatment Plant to make it safe to drink again.
: Figure 4.5 Filtering system at the water treatment plant
