Councillor welcomes €3.7m refurbishment of Churchfield reservoir

A CORK city councillor has welcomed a €3.7m refurbishment of a piece of infrastructure which has become a local landmark, and has suggested it be made open to the public.

The Churchfield reservoir, which was constructed in 1982, has supplied over 40,000 people from the northside of Cork City for over 40 years.

Visible from much of the city, the reservoir has become in its time a local icon, and has been immortalised as the logo of northside podcasters, the Two Norries.

Structural issues arose at the reservoir in 2018, which required emergency stabilisation works and a multi-million euro investment in a project which is expected to be completed by September.

Since November last, Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Cork City Council, David Walsh Civil Engineering, and Sorensen Civil Engineering Ltd, has been at work to replace the existing roof and to clean the entire reservoir to safeguard the water supply for Cork City now and into the future. 

That work has been welcomed by local Fianna Fáil councillor Tony Fitzgerald, who said the reservoir was a great asset to the area, and he suggested it could become an attraction in its own right.

“It’s great to see this essential work on an iconic centre on the peak of the northside, and it supplies a vital service to the city, and I would even call for the complex to be opened up and made public to the local community,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“The Knocknaheeny community has taken the reservoir on as its iconic symbol, and it has become nearly as iconic as Shandon or St Finbarr’s, although some might say that was going a little far.”

Speaking about the project, John Hickey, project manager with Uisce Éireann, said that a 350-tonne crane was on site and was in the process of installing the new roof at the reservoir.

“To carry out such a complex task while maintaining clean and safe drinking water is a challenge, and I want to thank all involved for their hard work and diligence to date,” Mr Hickey said.