Enough water saved to meet daily demand for over 2700 homes in Kilkenny

26 June 2023

A massive 920,000 litres of water has been saved in Kilkenny every day following the detection of 4 major leaks in Kilkenny City. The daily water savings are so significant that they would meet the daily demand of over 2,700 homes in Kilkenny.

Works were successfully completed in recent months through Uisce Éireann’s Leakage Reduction Programme, this was in collaboration with Kilkenny County Council & Shareridge Civil Engineering.

Joe Carroll Leakage Reduction Programme Manager with Uisce Éireann, described the finds as “Some of the largest savings of water in the County so far this year.”

“It’s hard to comprehend that more than 920,000 litres of clean drinking water was disappearing underground every day. Water is a valuable resource and expensive to produce so finding these two leaks and successfully repairing them will help secure a more reliable supply for the local communities.”

Joe added: “I am grateful to the residents of Kilkenny City for their co-operation and understanding while we carried out these essential works. The use of modern leak detection technology allowed us to accurately identify the location of the leak in this case. Pinpointing leaks, quantifying volumes of water saved, and continue to drive down leakage, conserve water, and reduce disruptions on the network is essential work for Uisce Éireann. We will strive for continued water savings success in Kilkenny into the future.”

Uisce Éireann and Kilkenny County Council used a specialised detection equipment called acoustic loggers. The state-of-the-art technology monitors the acoustics of the water network continuously and identifies locations of leaks based on the noise emitted.

Speaking about the success of the repairs, John Tennyson, Senior Executive Engineer, Kilkenny County Council, said: “As a result of the collaboration between Kilkenny County Council and Uisce Éireann, customers are enjoying a more secure and reliable water supply. For our leak detection team to have found these leaks is a massive success”.

“Securing the water supply in Kilkenny remains a top priority for Uisce Éireann and Kilkenny County Council. The unearthing of these leaks is a testament to the expertise and knowledge within Kilkenny County Council's Water Services Operations Team and the Find and Fix crews.”

Identifying and repairing these leaks will help Uisce Éireann to 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, please visit our National Leakage Reduction Programme page.

Please see a video of one the repairs referenced in this piece here.