Irish Water & Clare County Council to upgrade 17km of water mains in Ennis

Irish Water has signed a contract with Ward and Burke Construction for the €3.7 million Clare County Council Water Conservation Stage 3 - Ennis Water mains Rehabilitation Works Phase 1.
The project will deliver significant improvements in network performance, customer service and maintenance costs

February 10th 2015 - Irish Water, Ireland’s national water utility responsible for providing and developing water and waste water services throughout Ireland, in conjunction with Clare County Council, has signed a contract with Ward and Burke Construction for the replacement of approximately 17km of water mains that are in poor condition in Ennis town and surrounding areas. The project is part of the Clare Water Conservation Water main Rehabilitation Strategy.

The project will involve the installation of 11.8km of new polyethylene and ductile iron water mains at various locations around Ennis town. Additionally, works will include the replacement of 95 backyard and 978 front of house service connections (which includes replacement of 230 lead service connections) and the transfer of 44 service connections to a recently laid water main in Clarecastle, delivering improved levels of water pressure for customers there. A ring water main between Claureen Roundabout, Lahinch Road and Kilrush Road will also be re-commissioned to improve water pressure in those areas.  

The project commenced in January 2015 and is expected to take 18 months to complete. Upon completion, the project is expected to save approximately 1,343m³ of water a day with reduced levels of leakage or unaccounted for water as a result of the new water mains. The project will deliver financial savings over the medium and long term with reduced maintenance costs associated with the upgraded pipeline. This project joins another major infrastructural project in Ennis, the €4.1 million Clonroadmore Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade which commenced in September 2014 and is due for completion in 2016. 

Mark O’Duffy of Irish Water said; "We are delighted to have an agreed contract with Ward and Burke Construction for the delivery of this project. Irish Water’s priority is to develop infrastructure capable of providing quality water services nationwide. The upgrade of mains supply in Ennis town will enhance the service and water quality for customers in this region. Irish Water wishes to acknowledge the extensive preparatory design and planning work carried out on this project by Clare County Council’s Water Capital Office prior to the establishment of Irish Water in January 2014 and looks forward to delivering the project in conjunction with Clare County Council, Nicholas O’Dwyer Consulting Engineers and Ward & Burke Construction. Identifying projects such as this for priority investment will deliver long term financial savings with reduced costs associated with fixing and maintaining ageing pipelines that are no longer fit for purpose. Treating water is expensive and actively reducing the level of leakage across the network is a priority. This project will contribute towards reducing leakage from the current level of over 48% nationally."

Cathaoirleach John Crowe said "This high level of targeted investment in Water infrastructure in Ennis and its Environs is very much welcomed and will result in an improvement in the quality and reliability of the water supply to the public. It will also support commercial and industrial activity, which is so crucial to economic recovery. The hard work and commitment of the Elected Representatives and Local Authority Staff down through the years in prioritising funding for water mains rehabilitation and water conservation work is acknowledged and this Contract will address unsustainable levels of leakage in the distribution system."

Mayor of Ennis, Councillor Johnny Flynn noted "This is great news for Ennis, following nearly a decade in which Clare County Council, myself and fellow Councillors have been seeking central government funding to deal with the historic problems in the water pipe network in Ennis. These problems include nearly 50% loss of treated water due to leaks, low water pressure in some areas and some sections of old lead pipe. As a Civil engineer and Mayor of Ennis, I am thrilled that Irish Water are doing this work. A separate scheme being carried out by Irish Water is also underway to upgrade the Sewage Treatment Plant at Clonroadmore in Ennis to significantly improve its environmental standards and increase by over half the plant’s capacity to deal with the growth of  Ennis and its population since the plant was initially built. These two projects represent nearly €10 million of investment by Irish Water and Clare County Council in water and sewerage infrastructure improvements."

Irish Water, in conjunction with Clare County Council, looks forward to working closely with Ward & Burke Construction in order to strengthen the water main network and achieve water savings that will help to guarantee security of supply for current customers and further growth in the Region. 

For media enquiries please contact:
press@water.ie
Tel: 01 892 5500 / 087 145 8896

About Irish Water
Irish Water (www.water.ie) is the national water utility responsible for providing and developing water services throughout Ireland.  Incorporated in July 2013 as a semi-state company under the Water Services Act 2013, Irish Water will bring the water and wastewater services of the 31 Local Authorities together under one national service provider.

The purpose of Irish Water is to safeguard water as a precious natural resource and to deliver water services in a way that protects the environment and meets the needs of all citizens and industry now and in the future.
Irish Water will be accountable to two regulatory bodies – the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) which is the economic regulator for the water industry, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is the environmental regulator.

Irish Water is a registered subsidiary company of Ervia (formerly Bord Gáis Éireann).