The imminent start of the new academic year at three second level schools may be impacted by traffic disruption upon the decision taken by Irish Water to commence essential works on Retreat Road, a project which is expected to conclude at the end of September.
Marist College, Our Lady’s Bower and Athlone Community College are all located within the vicinity of the water mains works which will involve laying new service connections from the public water main in the road incorporating the replacement of almost 850 metres of old cast iron water mains with modern pipes which will improve water quality and reduce the number of bursts and water outages impacting customers.
In a statement issued by the state-owned utility company, it noted that securing the water supply in Athlone remains a vital focus for Irish Water, the necessary works involving the laying of new water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers’ property boundaries and connecting it to the customer’s water supply. This section of works will take place on Lower Street and Lower Road from Marist College to Killyon Hill in Athlone.
Speaking about the project, Matt Thomson, Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead with Irish Water, acknowledged the co-operation and patience of local residents and businesses received to date as works progress.
“Irish Water acknowledges the ongoing co-operation and patience of local residents and businesses in Athlone while we continue to deliver these vital water network improvement works to improve water quality and supply. The size and scale of the leakage challenge nationally is well documented. These essential works together with the leakage savings and upgrade works to date will safeguard the water supply in Athlone now and into the future.
“To minimise the impact on customers, areas of work will be limited to short sections. To facilitate the safe delivery of these works some traffic management may be necessary, however, local and emergency access will be maintained. The works may involve some short-term supply interruptions which we understand may cause inconvenience. The project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours’ notice prior to any planned water interruptions. Irish Water and Westmeath County Council regret any inconvenience these improvement works may cause.
“The works will be carried out on behalf of Irish Water by GMC Utilities Ltd and are expected to be completed by the end of September 2022,” Mr Thomson asserted.
This project was initially due to start in May, but it was temporarily postponed following concerns voiced by local Fianna Fáil Councillor, Aengus O’Rourke, who noted at the time that the ongoing works would negatively impact upon third level students sitting State exams in the three nearby schools.
As a result of leakage reduction works and through the close partnership between Irish Water and Westmeath County Council, over five million litres of water have been saved daily across Athlone.
