Communities of Donabate and Portrane enjoying significantly improved water supply
12 October 2023
Providing a sustainable water supply for Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) continues to be a top priority for Uisce Éireann with the recent completion of a major programme of upgrade works to the water supply in North County Dublin. The upgrades were delivered as part of a significant investment by Uisce Éireann to upgrade and improve the water network across the country, prioritising investment where it is needed most and enabling these communities to thrive.
Following persistent reports of low water pressure, bursts, and supply disruptions impacting homes and business in the Donabate and Portrane areas, Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Fingal County Council, prioritised a major programme of upgrade works to tackle these issues and provide customers with a more reliable and sustainable water supply.
The works were carried out on specific areas of the water network that would have the most impact on reducing high leakage levels. The areas were identified using underground sound equipment to assess the condition of the network, with sections of pipeline on New Road and Turvey Avenue in Donabate, and Burrow Road in Portrane presenting deterioration and failure.
As a result, 3.5km of aging watermains that were prone to frequent bursts were replaced with new, hard-wearing, modern pipes, providing a safe and more reliable water supply for homes and businesses for generations to come.
Speaking about the upgrade works Declan Healy, Uisce Éireann engineer and Project Manager, said: “Reducing leakage is not only about replacing old pipes or fixing bursts, it involves detailed planning, collaboration and a number of different work streams that will make the most impact on leakage levels in a given area. Visible bursts on the pipes are easy to find and fix, but hidden, underground leaks are a bigger challenge.
“As a result of these works and through the close partnership between Uisce Éireann, Fingal County Council and GMC Utilities Group Ltd, over 3.5km of old and deteriorating water mains have been replaced with new, hard-wearing plastic pipes that will provide customers with a more reliable service for generations. This is a fantastic achievement and I would like to thank the communities of Donabate and Portrane for their patience and for supporting us throughout these projects.”
Speaking about the collaborative approach, Mayor of Fingal, Councillor Adrian Henchy, added “As a result of the close collaboration between Uisce Éireann and Fingal County Council, homes and businesses in Donabate and Portrane are enjoying a much more secure and reliable water supply. The works undertaken will benefit customers in the area by strengthening and reinforcing the water network, reducing bursts and leakage and unplanned outages. Following on from Uisce Éireann’s upgrades, my dedicated colleagues in Fingal County Council took the opportunity to further collaborate with Uisce Éireann on essential road resurfacing works on Turvey Avenue. These works are also now complete and will be of benefit to the local community for years to come."
“Finally, I would like to pay a special tribute to the local communities of Donabate and Portrane. As a local councillor living in this area, I understand the inconvenience when works to our critical infrastructure are underway and I would like to thank them for their patience and understanding, both before and during the upgrade works.”
The projects were delivered under Uisce Eireann’s National Leakage Reduction Programme and will help us achieve our 2030 goal of a national leakage rate of 25%. The National Leakage Reduction team has made great strides since 2018 when the leakage rate stood at 46%.
Since 2018, Uisce Éireann has invested more than €500 million to upgrade the underground water network across the country through the delivery of the national Leakage Reduction Programme. We are investing a further €250 million every year up to the end of 2030 - fixing leaks and replacing pipes to provide a more reliable water supply.
For more information, visit our National Leakage Reduction Programme page.