3,000 homes in county losing water to leaks
ONE out of every three homes in County Wexford have costly water leakage problems.
To date around one in 18 Wexford houses with potential water leaks have been sent letters by Irish Water about water leakage issues at their homes. Irish Water has a First Fix Free scheme which has been availed of by 423 householders in County Wexford to date. Leakage of water from the network is a serious problem on a national scale and ‘ lost water’ is estimated at 47 per cent nationally based on figures from the national metering programme, and 34 per cent in County Wexford. The First Fix Free scheme was launched in early 2015 across all metering regions nationally. To the end of March, 75,974 properties were identified with customer-side leaks and 2,994 of these were found in County Wexford.
In 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 unnoticed and undetected. To avail of the scheme, customers must have a confirmed leak on their external supply pipe; have water meter installed on their property (so the leak can be verified) and have a working and accessible inside stop valve.
Irish Water’s Water Conservation Strategy Specialist Kate Gannon urged more people to avail of the scheme.
She said: ‘2,994 households in County Wexford 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. We will then issue them with a First Fix Repair Scheme offer detailing the terms and conditions of the repair. This really is a great opportunity to potentially avail of a free fix.’
878 home owners in County Wexford have so far made contact.
‘If you contact us about requesting a leak investigation one of the Irish Water team will contact you within ten working days. LoCall 1850 278 278 or see www.water.ie.’
For more information about the First Fix Leak Repair Scheme for Domestic Water Customers is available at water.ie/water-supply/first-fix/