€8.5m wastewater upgrade completed at plant which serves Kildare communities

A wastewater upgrade which cost €8.5m has been completed, and according to Uisce Éireann (UE), the upgrade will benefit the people of County Kildare.

UE explained that during 2025, the investment ‘delivered real improvements locally’, with the completion of the Ringsend and Enfield Wastewater Treatment Plants, both of which serve parts of Kildare.

Speaking on the upgrades, UE’s wastewater compliance senior manager, Niall Horgan said: “The progress we are seeing in Kildare shows what sustained investment can deliver for communities and the environment.

“We have made significant progress in recent years, but we know there is more to do.”

Mr Horgan also said that UE wants to remind households and businesses that ‘everyone can play a part’ in helping to protect the wastewater network.

He explained: “One of the challenges we continue to face is inappropriate materials being put into the wastewater network, and we saw a number of these incidents during 2025.

“Simple actions at home and in businesses can make a real difference; fats, oils, grease and other unsuitable materials can cause blockages and place additional pressure on the wastewater network.”

Mr Horgan concluded: “Disposing of these items correctly helps protect our infrastructure and allows us to focus our resources on maintaining and improving services for communities.”

‘PROGRESS IS REFLECTED’

Moreover, UE claimed that this progress is reflected in the latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, which shows that 93 per cent of Uisce Éireann’s wastewater treatment plants nationally are now compliant with EU standards.

UE elaborated: “We invested €454.4 million in wastewater services during 2025.

“In Kildare, a major €8.5m wastewater upgrade for Celbridge was recently completed, strengthening wastewater services for North Kildare communities.

“The project will improve the performance and resilience of the existing wastewater network, reducing the risk of sewer overflows and ensuring the infrastructure can meet the needs of a growing community for years to come.”

UE also revealed: “The Maynooth Transfer Pipeline project is also progressing, with completion expected next year.

“This project is upgrading the wastewater network, increasing the capacity to deliver reliable, sustainable high-quality wastewater services for the community.”

INCREASED INVESTMENT

Furthermore, UE asserted that it has invested €454.4m in wastewater infrastructure during 2025, an increase of more than €120m compared with the €333m invested in 2020.

“Total wastewater investment since then has exceeded €2.5bn, helping to modernise services in communities nationwide,” UE said.

Lastly, UE said that that it wanted to acknowledge the EPA’s concerns regarding ‘operational incidents.’

“Many of the challenges facing the wastewater system are associated with ageing infrastructure, parts of which have been in place for decades and were not designed for the demands now placed on the network,” UE added. “Addressing these challenges through continued investment and modernisation remains a priority.”