It looks like a compromise might have been reached in the vexed question of pumping Shannon water to feed the projected Dublin deficit with the suggestion this week of a holding reservoir in Derrygreenagh bog, just outside Rochfortbridge.
In a presentation to Offaly County Council this week, a representative of RPS Veolia - consultants on the issue to Dublin City Council - offered this as a preferred option from the 10 being considered.
A final decision is not expected before next year and no costings were made available.
However, previous pipeline-only costings from Lough Ree to Dublin were budgeted in the vicinity of €550-600m.
No figures were offered for the building of the reservoir.
A 120ha (300 acre ) attenuation reservoir or artificial lake is being looked at to hold the excess winter floodwater of the Shannon before pumping it the final 60kms to the capital to attend to seasonal demand.
The projected take of between two and four cubic metres of water per second is only one per cent of what the ESB take at the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric plant on the lower reaches, the Council was told.
The estimated shortfall of water projected for Dublin within 25 years is 170m litres of water each day.
This plan would solve the problem of Dublin needing a new water supply within eight years and would limit the fears of the Shannon Protection Alliance and the Shannon Regional Fisheries Organisation that Lough Ree might be drained by Dublin’s demands.
Last month, objectors marched to Leinster House to protest against the proposal by Dublin City Council to build a pipeline capable of taking 350 million litres of water a day (or twice the projected 170m litre shortfall ) from either or both of the river's two largest lakes to serve consumers in the capital.
The march was organised by the Shannon Protection Alliance (SPA ), a coalition of objectors from the catchment area set up in April 2007 after the city council identified Lough Ree as the most likely source from which Dublin would need to draw extra water.
RPS Veolia’s senior consultant, Mr Gerry Geogeghan confirmed talks had already taken place with Bord Na Móna and there were no substantial objections for such a project on the Derrygreenagh site.
This part of the bog has been wound down as a peat producer over the last number of years.
The SPA is adamant that the plan to take water from the Shannon would be an "ecological disaster" and that water levels in the lake would fall drastically, damaging its principal money-spinner - leisure boating on the Shannon.
However, in previous research done by this reporter on this issue, it was discovered if you stopped the Shannon flowing at Lanesboro that, even at the design maximum take of water (350m litres per day ), the level of Lough Ree would only drop by about four millimetres or less than a quarter of an inch a day.
Domestic water use in Ireland, at 160 litres per capita per day is among the highest in Europe.
This is blamed on the absence of tariffs based on consumption. Water charges were abolished in 1997.
Eighty three per cent of drinking water in Ireland comes from surface water.
