Uisce Éireann has replaced two sections of water mains totalling almost 9km in County Carlow.

A 6.5km long section of water mains from Brownshill Resevoir to Straboe Crossroads, which was prone to bursts was replaced under Uisce Éireann’s National Leakage Reduction Programme.

The work which also involved the laying of new water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers' property boundaries and connecting it to their water supply, began in late 2023 and was completed last month. It was carried out by Ward and Burke Construction Ltd. on behalf of Uisce Éireann.

In Bagenalstown, Uisce Éireann has replaced 2.4km of aged cast iron water mains with modern pipes, which will improve water quality in the area as well as provide greater security of supply and reduce leakage levels.

The works also included the decommissioning of 47 old backyard service connections, which were replaced by a newly installed watermain in the public domain. The works began in early February of this year and were completed in October and were carried out by Shareridge Ltd. on behalf of Uisce Éireann.

Dave Murphy, Programme Manager with Uisce Éireann, said that both projects will be massively beneficial for their locality

Both of the projects formed part of the water company’s National Leakage Reduction Programme and will help the utility to achieve its 2030 goal of a national leakage rate of 25%.

The leakage rate stood at 46% in 2018 - since then, Uisce Éireann has invested more than €500 million to upgrade the underground water network across the country through the delivery of the national Leakage Reduction Programme. Uisce Éireann is investing a further €250 million every year up to the end of 2030 - fixing leaks and replacing pipes to provide a more reliable water supply.