The winning project in this category overcame complex challenges in providing infrastructure vital to a large community in a way that respected environmental constraints in the areas of ecology, hydrology, archaeology, and water quality, within a designated Special Areas of Conservation. In developing a new intake facility with transfer pipelines and water treatment from the environmentally sensitive River Nore, Kilkenny Regional Water Supply Scheme Upgrade designed by Ryan Hanley successfully met the community’s long-term water needs while prioritising environmental sensitivity. By replacing three unsustainable sources with a single, sustainable abstraction, the project removed a growth constraint in the Kilkenny City region while contributing to the protection of the fisheries habitat in the Nore and enhancing biodiversity.