Significant progress in providing a medium term solution to Athlone’s water necessities has been made, the Athlone Chamber of Commerce and Industry, have confirmed.
Speaking to the Athlone Advertiser this week, Mr John McGrath, President, Athlone Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that the member driven organisation which is the primary voice of business in the town, was working “behind the scenes” with relevant agencies in a manner to allay the concerns of local businesses who have been regularly impacted by breaks in water supply during working hours.
“We are now happy to confirm that as a result of pressure imposed upon Irish Water through the Chamber by our members, notably the hospitality and large business sectors, the national utility service are making significant headway in providing a medium term solution to Athlone’s water needs while at the same time addressing the immediate supply issue through leak repairs and other mitigation measures.
“Irish Water have confirmed that they are progressing with plans to carry out an enduring upgrade to the Athlone plant to provide for social and economic growth and development within the town in the longer term.
Due to the pressure exerted by the Athlone business community, we are confident that Irish Water accelerated their leakage reduction programme last year and they they have improved and secured additional water supply and reduced the need for restrictions.
Noting that Irish Water confirmed the progress of saving approximately 750,000 litres of water per day, John added that the repair of a leak close to Battery Heights resulted in a further saving of 600,000 litres which, based on calculations by Athlone Chamber of Commerce and Industry is a significant saving of 10 percent.
“We would like to acknowledge the input of local Minister of State, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, who met with the Chamber members with regard to high water usage last year in order to understand the problems being faced by industry.
“Again, the collaborative nature of making progress and doing business is highlighted by this success. In order to have the overall project completed this will need to continue as will be the case with outer projects in the sights of the Chamber,” John emphasised.
