Irish Water replacing ageing water mains in Longford to safeguard the water supply for local communities

Irish Water, working in partnership with Longford County Council, is commencing a series of works to replace ageing water mains prone to bursting in the County in order to safeguard the water supply for farms, homes and businesses.

The programme to replace problematic water mains in Longford has commenced and will involve the replacement of over 2.5 kilometres of aged problematic water mains with high density polyethylene (plastic) pipes. These works are being carried out as part of Irish Water’s national Leakage Reduction Programme.

Irish Water will be replacing over 400 metres of water main in Soran, Ballinalee, Longford and 344 metres on the N63 Athlone Road between the junction with Gleann Riada and continuing south past Townspark Industrial Estate. These works are underway and are scheduled to be completed in late June. Following this, works to replace almost 2 kilometres of water mains in Drumnacooha/Derrynacross, Ballinalee, Longford will commence in July 2019 and these works are expected to be completed in September.

The works will also involve laying new water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers’ property boundaries and connecting it to the customers’ water supply. Where the existing service connections on the public side are lead these will be replaced as part of this improvement work. 

The 3 sections of work will be carried out on behalf of Irish Water by GMC Utilities Group limited and are expected to be completed by September 2019.

Once complete, the benefits of the project will include a more reliable water supply for all customers on the public water supply. The works will result in reduced leakage on the network and minimise the occurrence of bursts. Operational and maintenance costs will also be reduced as the network operation will require less maintenance.

Irish Water has planned the works in short sections in order to limit impact on customers. Works may involve some short-term water shut offs and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours’ notice prior to any planned water shut offs. Traffic management will be in place over the course of the works. Local and emergency traffic will be maintained at all times.

Commenting on the works, Derek Deignan, Regional Lead on the Leakage Reduction Programme said, ‘The replacement of these ageing water mains in Longford will safeguard the water supply for local residents and businesses. Replacing the existing water mains with new modern pipes will provide a long-term solution to ensure a safe and secure water supply is delivered to customers.’

Irish Water understands this type of work can be inconvenient and will ensure our work crews make every effort to minimise any disruption these works may cause.

Residents and businesses in the areas of the works have been notified and customers can call the Irish Water customer helpline on 1850 278 278 for any questions in relation to the works.

Irish Water’s national Leakage Reduction Programme will, over the next 4 years, see €500 million invested to reduce the level of leakage across the country by fixing and replacing ageing water mains. This will ensure a safe, reliable water supply which is vital for our health, our environment and our growing population and economy.

To find out more about Irish Water’s national programme of works to reduce leakage and improve Ireland’s water supply visit our Leakage Reduction Programme Page