Rathconnell water works underway

Irish Water started work on replacing a problematic 1.2km stretch of ageing water mains in Rathconnell today, Monday February 26.

The work, which is scheduled to take six weeks to complete and will be carried out by GMC Ltd on behalf of Irish Water, is on a stretch of mains along which there has been over twenty leaks in the last year.

In a statement issued this week, Irish Water says that the areas of work will be limited to short sections to minimise the impact on customers.

“The works may involve some short term water offs and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours notice,” Irish Water said.

Traffic management will also be in place for the duration of the works, but local and emergency traffic will be maintained.

Senator Aidan Davitt, who lives in the Rathconnell area, said that the work is “badly needed”. He also paid tribute to council official John Mayfield for his role in ensuring that the work was prioritised by Irish Water and commended Cllr Bill Collentine for his representations on behalf of residents.

“It's been very hard on local families and farmers as they haven't known when they'd have water or not. It's also been tough on council workers as they have constantly been repairing this line.”

Also welcoming the start of the work, Deputy Peter Burke said that he made a number of representations on behalf of constituents who have contacted him on this “important and disruptive issue”.

"This line of piping has caused huge problems for residents and I am glad that Irish Water are being responsive to complaints made by local residents and myself on this issue. The works are being undertaken as part of the National Leakage Reduction Programme, which is targeting old damaged pipes from the water network to improve water quality and reduce leakage,” Deputy Burke said.