Irish Water, working in partnership with Westmeath County Council, is progressing with the second phase of water main improvement works in Bullet Road, Athlone, to improve the security of supply and reduce high levels of leakage.
The works involve the replacement of approximately 550m of old and problematic water mains that were prone to frequent bursts and leakage which caused water supply disruptions for customers in the area. The mains are being replaced with new high density, polyethylene (plastic ) pipes.
The works will also involve laying 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.
Where the existing service connections on the public side are lead these will be replaced as part of this improvement work.
“Replacing these old, damaged pipes will reduce the instances of bursts and water outages and the new water mains and service connections will safeguard the water supply for homes and businesses in the area. When completed, both phases of works will result in the replacement of over 1km of old and damaged mains on the Bullet Road. These improvements to the water network are essential in providing a safe, secure and reliable water supply, now and into the future.
The works may involve some short-term water shut offs and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours prior notice of any planned water shut offs. To facilitate the safe delivery of these works, some traffic management will be in place, however, local and emergency access will be maintained at all times,” Irish Water’s national Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead, Matthew Thompson, said.
Irish Water and Westmeath County Council regret any inconvenience these improvement works may cause. The works are being carried out on behalf of Irish Water by GMC Utilities and are expected to be completed by December 2020.
This project is one example of how Irish Water is working in partnership with Westmeath County Council to reduce leaks every day. Fixing leaks can be complicated with over 63,000km of water pipe in Ireland.
These works are being carried out as part of Irish Water’s national Leakage Reduction Programme which will see €500 million invested up to the end of 2021 to reduce the level of leakage across the country by fixing and replacing ageing water mains. This will ensure a safe, reliable water supply which is vital for our health, our environment and our growing population and economy. For more information, please visit www.water.ie/reducingleaks
