Irish Water starts work to replace Newtown pipes

MUCH to the relief of locals households and businesses, work finally commenced this week on a project to replace faulty water mains pipes in the village of Newtownshandrum.

Irish Water has confirmed it will be replacing five sections of ageing pipes totalling 10.5km in length and associated service connections with modern, durable plastic mains.

The issue of the dilapidated water supply system has been raised at County Council levels numerous occasions, with councillors becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of action taken to address the issue.

Earlier this year Cllr Ian Doyle (FF) expressed his frustration at the situation during a meeting of the local authority’s northern divisional committee.

He said that the pipes had caused frequent bursts and leaks, resulting in regular disruptions and leaving local homes and business premises without a water supply.

“The line is porous and is costing Irish Water a fortune because they are sending crews out there to patch up one leak after another. Only the other day I saw a leak spring up while a crew was fixing another one just a few yards away,” he said.

“It is also costing the council money in terms of the damage these leaks are causing to the road surface,” he added.

Steven Blennerhassett of Irish Water said the project would take in the region of four-months to complete.

“By replacing these old sections of water main we will address what has become a regular problem of supply outage due to burst pipes. This will benefit local residents and businesses by providing them with a secure and reliable water supply,” he said.

“It will also reduce leakage on the network, which will in turn reduce the volume of treated water that is lost unnecessarily.”

Mr Blennerhassett said the project team would work closely with the local community to minimise any disruption.

“The work sections will be limited to short sections and traffic management arrangements will be put in place to minimise impact on customers,” he said.

“The works may involve some short-term water shut-offs and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48-hours prior notice of any planned water shut off ’s. Customers can contact the Irish Water call centre on 1850 278 278 if they have any queries.”