Draining the Shannon

Such would be the gigantic nature of such a project, and its likely cost, that no government has committed to such a scheme, certainly in any comprehensive manner. In any case, the increased awareness around the environmental value of the river in its current state means that there will be little or no interference in the Shannon waterway structure.
Meanwhile, water availability is becoming a major constraint in our largest urban centre, Dublin, as well as in the progression of various housing and industrial projects around the country. Tapping the Shannon’s abundant water resource would seem a logical solution. However, we see increasing agitation and opposition to a proposed scheme which would remove, at most, three per cent of the water from the Shannon annually to deliver a new water source to the greater Dublin area, as well as meeting water deficit requirements along the pipeline route to the capital. The logic of such opposition needs to be fully explained to a puzzled public. The Shannon does not belong to its neighbours any more than Dublin belongs to Dubliners. Once a pipeline is laid it disappears into the landscape, just as the gas pipelines have merged into the topography, so permanent intrusion on the environment is not an issue. We seem to forget that hundreds of thousands of rural people, i.e. not Dublin-born, including members of our families, our friends and our neighbours have made, and will continue to make their lives and livelihoods in Dublin. Surely, they have as much right to share Shannon water as those living on the banks of the Shannon, who might gain marginally if there is less water in the river to flood the farms and dwellings bordering it.