Repair complete on Staleen Water Main

Update Thursday 31 May, 5.40pm

The burst is repaired on the pipeline serving the Staleen Water Treatment Plant which serves customers in Drogheda and East Meath. Repair crews were on site throughout the night to excavate the area and locate the burst. Work on the repair got underway since first thing this morning and the repair was completed early this afternoon. The network is currently recharging.

The water supply has been maintained for the majority of customers as the treated drinking water reservoir serving Drogheda and most of East Meath has enough water to maintain supply to customers. Water supply is being maintained to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and we are also prioritising schools, nursing homes, crèches and vulnerable customers. We have contacted vulnerable customers in Louth and East Meath and Irish Water and Louth and Meath County Councils are coordinating efforts to ensure bottled water is delivered to them today.

Outage impacting some customers in Ratoath, Kilbride and Duleek

A water outage is impacting some customers in Ratoath, Kilbride and Duleek and it could between 36-48 hours before full services is restored for all customers, in particular to properties on higher ground and at the edge of the network.  Alternative water supplies have been mobilised and water tankers are located in Ashbourne, Ratoath, Duleek and Kilbride.  Bottled water is also available at all the locations listed below.  Empty containers are available at all water stations in Duleek and we are distributing empty containers to the other locations.

We would remind customers to bring clean containers, and as a precautionary measure to boil water taken from these stations before use. View our Alternative Water Supply Map for current water tanker locations.

Alternative water station locations:

Ashbourne

• Racehill
• Millennium Park

Ratoath

• Nursing Home Town Centre
• Donnelly’s Hardware
• SuperValu Carpark
• Glascran Nurseries, Kilbride Road
•  Mill Tree Apark Housing Estate
• Fox Lodge Housing Estate

Kilbride

• Cherrywood Housing Estate

Duleek

• Church (Green Area)
• St Cianans Villas
• Industrial Estate
• O'Neill’s Pub

Please conserve water until further notice

We are also prioritising the water supply to key events that are taking place in the area. We are asking all customers to conserve water until we can confirm a timeline for resumption of a normal water supply.  

Our full Crisis Management Team is in place since the burst occurred so that we have contingency measures in place to respond to whatever circumstances arise.  Replacement parts to repair the pipeline have ensured that the repair was carried out within a shorter timeframe than when a similar burst occurred last year.

Budget approved for new pipeline to replace existing lines

Irish Water has approved the budget and design for a new pipeline to replace the existing lines and the pipes have been procured. We are in the final stages of resolving all of the contractual and regulatory issues and we plan to begin mobilising construction of the pipeline within weeks, with the aim of having the programme completed by year end.

We understand the inconvenience caused due to this burst water main and thanks customers for their patience. We are working with Louth and Meath County Councils to distribute alternative water supplies to impacted customers and to ensure the repair was carried out as quickly as possible.

We wishe to thank Louth County Council employees and external contractors who worked onsite overnight and throughout today to carry out the repair and who are continuing to monitor the pipeline to bring the water treatment plant back into full production to restore supply to all customers as soon as possible. We also thank Louth and Meath County Council employees who are working to distribute alternative water supplies to impacted customers and Meath County Council employees who were working last night to carry out work on the network.

Customers can contact our customer care helpline 24/7 on 1850 278 278 or on Twitter @IWCare. Updates will be provided throughout the day on our Water Supply Updates page.