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Residents Advised Of Potential Water Outages As Improvements Works Continue In Westmeath

Monday, 16 May 2022 09:39

Irish Water is working to strengthen the local water network.

Works to improve Athlone's water network are continuing this week.

Upgrades to Lower Road and Lower Street are to begin over the coming days.

In partnership with Westmeath County Council, Irish Water will replace almost 850 metres of old cast iron water mains with modern pipes, to reduce the number of bursts and water outages impacting customers.

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 customer’s water supply.

This section of works will take place on Lower Street and Lower Road from Marist College to Killyon Hill in Athlone.

Speaking about the project Matt Thomson, Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead with Irish Water says;

“Irish Water acknowledges the ongoing co-operation and patience of local residents and businesses in Athlone while we continue to deliver these vital water network improvement works to improve the water supply. The size and scale of the leakage challenge nationally is well documented. These essential works together with the leakage savings and upgrade works to date will safeguard the water supply in Athlone now and into the future and will also support future growth and development.”

To minimise the impact on customers, areas of work will be limited to short sections.

To facilitate the safe delivery of these works some traffic management may be necessary, however, local and emergency access will be maintained.

The works may involve some short-term supply interruptions which we understand may cause inconvenience.

The project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours’ notice prior to any planned water interruptions. 

The works will be carried out on behalf of Irish Water by GMC Utilities Ltd. and are expected to be completed by the end of June 2022.

As a result of leakage reduction works and through the close partnership between Irish Water and Westmeath County Council, over five million litres of water have been saved daily across Athlone, according to Irish Water.

Elsewhere,

Irish Water is also continuing its leakage reduction programme in Mullingar.

Crews will be replacing 1.2 kilometres of water mains along the R390 in Ballinea to safeguard supply in the area.

This is in addition to 800 meters of completed works carried out during the first phase of the project which has seen a total of 2 kilometres of water mains replaced in Ballinea.

The old mains have been replaced with new modern pipes which will reduce the number of bursts and water interruptions impacting customers and ensure a more reliable supply of water for the local community.

The works involved laying new water service connections from the public water mains in the road to customers’ property boundaries and connecting it to the customers’ water supply. 

Mr. Thomson added;

“These works were vital to ensure a more secure water supply to homes and businesses in Mullingar and form part of a significant investment by Irish Water to safeguard the water supply. We understand that this type of work can be inconvenient, but it is essential to drive down leakages in Mullingar and across Westmeath. We would like to thank the community of Mullingar for their patience and cooperation during the delivery and completion phase of this vital water network improvement works. The completion of this project will safeguard the water supply for Ballinea’s residents and businesses now and into the future”. 

The Irish Water customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also make contact on Twitter @IWCare.

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