Irish Water, working in partnership with Clare County Council, is starting work today to replace almost 1850m of problematic water mains in Tullabrack/Gower as part of the utility's National Leakage Reduction Programme.
In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46%, by the end of 2020 it was reduced to 40%. Irish Water said that while fixing leaks can be complicated it was making progress – the water company is currently on course to achieve a national leakage rate of 38% by the end of 2021.
The delivery of the National Leakage Reduction Programme represents an investment of over €500 million between 2017 and the end of 2021 to reduce leakage and replace old pipes on the water network.
The project in Tullabrack/Gower also involves laying new water service connections from the public watermain to customers’ property boundaries and connecting it to the customers’ water supply.
Outlining the benefits the mains replacement will bring, Gerry O Donnell, Asset Delivery Regional Lead for Irish Water, explained:
“The upgrading of these watermains will benefit the locals by strengthening and reinforcing the water network, hopefully leading to the reduction of drinking water that is lost due to leakage. It will minimise future disruptions to the communities water supply by reducing leakage and creating a more stable network – ultimately providing a better service and better water quality for all.”
The works will be carried out on behalf of Irish Water by Shareridge Ltd. and are expected to be completed by early December.
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