Over half our water leaks away

MORE than half of Kerry’s water supply is lost to leaks.

That’s according to Irish Water who have just released statistics on how much water is lost across the country due to leaky pipes and outdated supply networks.

Irish Water said that 56 per cent of drinking water in Kerry is lost through leaks. The figure for the county is considerably higher than the national average of 47 per cent.

Figures just released for the period up to the end of March this year show that 487 householders in Kerry availed from Irish Water’s First Fix Free scheme.

In May 2014 the Government announced funding of €51m for a scheme to address water leakage on pipework within a customer’s property boundary under a ‘First Fix’ scheme. Under the scheme Irish Water notifies customers where suspected leakage is occurring within the boundary of the property outside the home and offer a free leak investigation and repair if appropriate.

The vast majority of leaks are underground so go undetected.

To the end of March leaks were identified at 2,372 properties in Kerry.

“Leakage of water from the network is a serious problem on a national scale and that is reflected here in Kerry,” said Irish Water Conservation Strategy Specialist Kate Gannon.

“2,372 of households in Co. Kerry will have already received a letter indicating a potential leak on their property and these householders should contact Irish Water, if they haven’t done so already, to request a free leak investigation,” Kate Gannon added.