Irish Water, working in partnership with Westmeath County Council, has completed its programme of water main improvement works on Bullet Road, Athlone, to improve the water supply and reduce high levels of leakage.
The works involved replacing over one kilometre of old and problematic water mains with new high density, polyethylene (plastic ) pipes. Replacing these old, damaged pipes will significantly reduce the number of bursts and outages and safeguard the water supply for homes and businesses for years to come.
“Irish Water is committed to safeguarding the water supply for customers in Athlone and we are delighted to announce that this programme of works have now been successfully completed. There was a history of leaks in the area, as well as bursts and outages. To improve the drinking water supply, quality and water pressure we decommissioned and replaced over 1km of cast iron water mains along Bullet Road.
“We also laid new water service connections from the public water main to customers’ property boundaries and connected them to the customer’s water supply. The works did involve some short-term water shut-offs and traffic management measures which we understand causes inconvenience and we would like to thank customers and businesses for their patience while we completed these essential works.
“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 but we are making progress. In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46 percent, by the end of 2019 it was 42 percent and we are currently on course to achieving a national leakage rate of 38 percent by 2021.
“The works were 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
“Irish Water continues to work with our Local Authority partners, contractors and others to safeguard the health and well-being of both staff and the public and to ensure the continuity of critical drinking water and wastewater services. Irish Water would like to remind people to follow the HSE Covid-19 advice and ensure frequent handwashing,” Irish Water’s Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead, Matthew Thompson, said.
