Crews continue to drive down leakage and improve the water quality in Athlone

27 July 2022

Securing the water supply in Athlone remains a vital focus for Uisce Éireann with works due to begin on Lower Road and Lower Street in the town early next week. Working in partnership with Westmeath County Council, Uisce Éireann will replace almost 850 metres of old cast iron water mains with modern pipes which will improve water quality and 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 Uisce Éireann said: “Uisce Éireann 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 water quality and 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.”

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. Uisce Éireann and Westmeath County Council regret any inconvenience these improvement works may cause.

The works will be carried out on behalf of Uisce Éireann by GMC Utilities Ltd and are expected to be completed by the end of September 2022.

As a result of leakage reduction works and through the close partnership between Uisce Éireann and Westmeath County Council, over five million litres of water have been saved daily across Athlone. Fixing leaks can be complicated but we are making progress. In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46%, by the end of 2021 it was reduced to 38%. Uisce Éireann is now on track to achieve a national leakage rate of 25% by the end of 2030.  For more information, please visit the National Leakage Reduction Programme page of our website.

The Uisce Éireann 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 Supply and Service Updates section of the Uisce Éireann website.

Uisce Éireann 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.