Uisce Éireann is progressing work on a €multi-million programme to tackle ongoing discolouration issues in Cork City – the water company is currently replacing 2.4 kilometres of old cast iron water mains prone to bursts on the northside of the city.

There are approximately 600km of watermains in Cork city, 60%-70% of which is made from cast iron and is up to 100 years old. This, combined with improvement works across the city, unplanned outages or bursts, and new infrastructure being brought online, is causing intermittent discolouration for a number of customers.

Commenting on the project, Programme Manager at Uisce Éireann, Brian McCarthy said:

“The section of water mains in Gurranabraher was prioritised for investment and replacement by Uisce Éireann due to its age and deteriorating condition with the old cast iron mains dating back to the 1940s. The replacement works are also an important part of addressing the discolouration issues that some customers have been experiencing.”

The project is being carried out by Ward and Burke Construction Ltd on behalf of Uisce Éireann and works are expected to be completed by September 2025.

Mains replacement works have been undertaken at a number of areas across the city in 2024.

Uisce Éireann established a taskforce in February 2024 to address the underlying issues across the city. The taskforce is comprised of experts in a range of disciplines who are working closely with all stakeholders to identify and implement solutions.

The dedicated Water Quality taskforce has made progress in a number of areas over the course of 2024 including targeted flushing, accelerated network improvements and additional investment to progress two new processes at the Lee Road Water Treatment Plant.

Uisce Éireann is progressing its €1.6 million additional investment in two new processes at the Lee Road Water Treatment Plant to enhance the manganese removal capability of the plant and minimise the impact the treated water has with the old cast iron watermain network in the city.

Whilst all the infrastructure at the plant complies with global and national water treatment standards, the additional investment in new treatment processes is part of a series of initiatives by Uisce Éireann to address water discolouration issues in Cork City.

The manganese reduction system is now in place and works are ongoing to install a new water conditioning system, designed to improve the interaction between treated water and the city’s aging cast iron water pipes. The additional conditioning unit remains on schedule for installation and commissioning by mid 2025.