Working in partnership with Westmeath County Council, Irish Water has completed two further upgrade projects in the Arcadia and Coosan areas of Athlone which have reduced the number of bursts and water outages impacting customers.
The works involved the replacement of over one kilometre of old and problematic water mains, some of which were made of cast iron and had become badly corroded, affecting water quality. These old pipes were replaced with new, modern pipework resulting in significant water savings and improved water quality and supply.
“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 the water supply. The size and scale of the leakage challenge nationally is well documented. The completion of these projects together with the leakage savings and upgrade works to date will safeguard the water supply in Athlone now and into the future, and will also support future growth and development,” Matt Thomson, Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead with Irish Water, speaking with regard to the upgrade, said.
The projects also involved laying new service connections from the public water main in the road to customers’ property boundaries and connecting it to the customers’ water supply. Where existing service connections on the public side were lead, these were also replaced as part of the upgrade works.
The works were carried out on behalf of Irish Water by GMC Utilities Ltd.
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 has been saved daily across Athlone. Fixing leaks can be complicated but we are making progress. In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46 percent, by the end of 2021 it was reduced to 38 percent.
Irish Water is responsible for the delivery of all public water and wastewater services in Ireland. We are committed to continuously upgrading and developing critical infrastructure to support the growth needed in housing and across our economy, while protecting the environment and safeguarding water supplies.
