Upgrade for Swanlinbar water infrastructure

Irish Water is set to address difficulties in the water supply in the Swanlinbar area. The State utility company say Swanlinbar residents are set to enjoy better quality drinking water following water mains replacement works by Irish Water.

They will work in partnership with Cavan County Council commencing works in Swanlinbar on March 25 to improve drinking water quality for local residents and businesses.

The water mains renewal works on the N87, south of Swanlinbar involve the decommissioning and replacement of approximately one kilometre of old and damaged pipes with modern, high density polyethelene (plastic) ones.

The works are part of Irish Water’s National Leakage Reduction Programme which will reduce the high level of leakage across the country by fixing or replacing ageing water mains over the next four years.

This contract is being carried out by Farran’s Construction Limited and is expected to be completed in April 2019. Once complete customers will experience improved water security and water quality in this area.

Irish Water’s Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead Declan Cawley explained how the replacement of water mains in Swanlinbar includes the laying of water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers’ property boundaries and connecting them to the customer’s water supply: “Where the existing service connections on the public side are lead these will be replaced as part of this improvement work.”

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’ notice prior to any planned water shut offs. Traffic management may be in place during this time involving local diversions. Local and emergency traffic will be maintained at all times.

A spokesperson said:L “Irish Water regrets any inconvenience these necessary water network improvements may cause and would like to thank local residents and businesses for their cooperation in delivering these essential works which will bring a more reliable water supply to the local community.”

This project forms part of Irish Water’s investment plan. Works have been prioritised to address the most critical issues in line with commitments outlined in Irish Water’s Business Plan. Delivery of the business plan will involve a €5.5 billion investment in capital spending on drinking water and wastewater quality and capacity and new infrastructure up to 2021. This plan includes an investment in leakage reduction and water quality initiatives, called the Leakage Reduction Programme, which will see an investment of €512 million during the period to 2021. These works are vital to ensuring a clean, safe and reliable public water supply to support our growing population and economy.

The Leakage Reduction Programme started in 2017 and will continue to the end of 2021 and will see over €500m invested to reduce the high leakage rate in our water network.

Some of Ireland’s water network, particularly in urban areas is over a century old. Every day 1.7 billion litres of water is distributed through the network but almost half of this clean water is lost through leaks. The target is to save approximately 166 million litres of water per day – that’s enough water to fill 66 Olympic-size swimming pools every day.

Irish Water’s Leakage Reduction Programme will fix or replace old, damaged pipes and remove any lead pipes from the public network. Households who currently share a supply connection will also be directly connected to the public water mains. This will ensure that customers have a more reliable service and experience fewer water outages due to bursts and leaks.

Residents and businesses in the Swanlinbar areas to benefit from the planned improvements have been notified and customers can phone Irish Water on Callsave 1850 278 278 if they have any questions about the project.

Details of work in the area will be updated regularly on the Water Supply Updates section of the Irish Water website at https://www.water.ie/water-supply/supply-and-service-update/

Further information on Irish Water’s Leakage Reduction Programme is also available on the Irish Water website www.water.ie.