Irish Water is progressing its water mains work - capital investment in the region of €700 million per year is needed for a sustained period of several decades to address the poor condition of Ireland’s water infrastructure.

The water company and Fingal County Council are currently progressing the Swords Water Main Rehabilitation project - the new water main will save an average of 44 million litres of water every month.

The project will commence on site in the coming months and take approximately 21 months to complete. 

The mains rehabilitation work will provide a more reliable water supply for homes and businesses in Swords and to customers in Malahide and Portmarnock served by the Malahide Reservoir.

Commenting on the project Paul Hickey, Irish Water Regional Lead said:

“The Swords Water Main Rehabilitation Project is a priority project for Irish Water. This water main has had a long history of bursting and the replacement of the ageing water main forms part of Irish Water’s investment to improve the water and wastewater infrastructure in Fingal.”

The utility is also working in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to replace 785 metres of ageing water mains on Monkstown Road in Co Dublin. The €275,000 investment will replace the approximately 140 year old water main which is prone to frequent bursts with a modern high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic pipe.

The works, which will be carried out by Córas Pipeline Services Ltd on behalf of Irish Water, will also see the removal of lead connections and replacement of old fire hydrants.

The works are now planned to begin on 2 October -they had initially started last March but were suspended due to protesters on Monkstown Road.

Commenting on the project, Ivan Corcoran, Capital Programme Lead with Irish Water, said:

“It is vital that this ageing water main is replaced. The water main dates back to approximately 1870 and customers in the area have been impacted by frequent water outages. The new water main will secure the water supply for customers and provide them with a reliable water service.”

Works have been prioritised to address the most critical issues in line with commitments outlined in Irish Water’s Business Plan up to 2021. Delivery of the business plan will involve a €5.5bn investment in capital spending on drinking water and wastewater quality and capacity and new infrastructure up to 2021 while achieving efficiencies of €1.6bn.