Water mains replacement work in Ballinea area next week

Irish Water and Westmeath County Council are planning works to replace almost 1.2km of old, cast iron water mains along the R390 in Ballinea next week.

The old mains will be replaced with new, high density polyethylene (plastic) pipes, which will reduce the number of bursts and water outages and ensure a more reliable supply of water.

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 existing service connections on the public side are lead, they will also be replaced as part of the improvement work.

To facilitate the safe delivery of the works, a temporary disruption to supply including low pressure and outages is required on Tuesday December 14 from 9am until 4pm affecting customers in the following areas: Ballina, Dysart, Castletown Geoghegan, Kilpatrick, Habsorough, Strattonstown, Dundonnell, Byranstown and surrounding areas.

Crews will make every effort to minimise the disruption to customers and will work to complete the works as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

It typically takes two to three hours following restoration time for the network to refill and normal water supply to fully return.

Some traffic management may be necessary – however, local and emergency access will be maintained.

Irish Water and Westmeath County Council regret any inconvenience these essential upgrade works may cause.

Customers can find helpful tips and advice on how to prepare for planned works and avoid issues with their water supply by visiting the Irish Water website at www.water.ie/prepareforworks.

The works, which are scheduled to begin on Monday December 13, will be carried out on behalf of Irish Water by GMC Utilities Ltd and are expected to be completed in early 2022.

Matt Thomson, Leakage Reduction Programme regional lead with Irish Water, said: “These works are vital to ensure a more secure water supply to homes and businesses in Mullingar and are part of a significant investment by Irish Water to safeguard the water supply.

“We understand this type of work can be inconvenient and we will ensure our work crews make every effort to minimise any disruption. We would like to thank people for their patience and co-operation while we continue to deliver these vital water network improvement works and safeguard the water supply now and into the future.”

The Irish Water customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates, visit the Water Supply Updates section of the Irish Water website.

This project is one example of how Irish Water is working in partnership with Local Authorities to provide a more reliable water supply and reduce leakage. Fixing leaks can be complicated but we are making progress. In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46pc, by the end of 2020 it was reduced to 40pc. We are currently on course to achieve a national leakage rate of 38pc by the end of 2021.

Irish Water is responsible for the delivery of all public water and wastewater services in Ireland. We are committed to continuously upgrading and developing critical infrastructure to support the growth needed in housing and across our economy, while protecting the environment and safeguarding water supplies.