UPDATE: Irish Water works in Ballinea area extended
Irish Water works in the Ballinea area have been extended.
In a statement this afternoon, Irish Water said customers in Ballina, Kilpatrick, Habsorough, Strattonstown, Dundonnell, Byranstown and surrounding areas in Mullingar will experience temporary disruption between 9am and 1pm on Tuesday January 25.
The company said that securing the water supply in Westmeath remains a focus and it has a number of projects planned for 2022 to reduce leakage and improve the water supply in the county.
Last month, in partnership with Westmeath County Council, Irish Water began to replace old and problematic water mains along the R390 in Ballinea, to reduce bursts and water outages.
The works are progressing well and involve replacing almost 1.2km of old water mains with modern pipeline.
To continue to safely deliver these works, a temporary disruption to supply is required, this morning Friday 21 January, and next Monday and Tuesday.
Crews make every effort to minimise the disruption to customers and will work to complete these works as quickly and as efficiently as possible, said Irish Water.
It typically takes two to three hours following restoration time for the network to refill and normal water supply to fully return.
Irish Water and Westmeath County Council regret any inconvenience these essential upgrade works may cause.
Customers can find tips and advice on how to prepare for planned works and avoid issues with their water supply by visiting the Irish Water website at www.water.ie/prepareforworks. Irish Water and Westmeath County Council regret any inconvenience these necessary improvement works may cause.
The works are being carried out on behalf of Irish Water by GMC Utilities Ltd and are expected to be completed in February.
Matt Thomson, Leakage Reduction Programme regional lead at Irish Water, said: “These works are part of a significant investment by Irish Water to safeguard the water supply. We understand this type of work can be inconvenient and we will ensure our work crews make every effort to minimise disruption.
“We would like to thank the community for their patience and co-operation while we continue to deliver these water network improvement works and safeguard the water supply now and into the future.”
The Irish Water customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates please visit the Water Supply Updates section of the Irish Water website.
These works are an example of how Irish Water is working in partnership with Westmeath County Council to reduce leaks every day. Fixing leaks can be complicated with over 63,000km of water pipe in Ireland. Most leaks aren’t visible, resulting in precious water being lost but we are making progress. In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46%, and by the end of 2021 it was reduced to 38%.
Irish Water is responsible for the delivery of all public water and wastewater services in Ireland. We are committed to continuously upgrading and developing critical infrastructure to support the growth needed in housing and across our economy, while protecting the environment and safeguarding water supplies.