Works progress to improve Toberscarden water supply

04 October 2021

Uisce Éireann, working in partnership with Sligo County Council, is replacing close to 2 km of old watermains in Toberscarden, Tubbercurry, Co Sligo to provide a more safe and secure water supply for customers in the area. The works will also reduce the high level of leakage and bursts in the area. The ageing watermains are being replaced with new high density polyethylene (plastic) pipes.

Outlining the benefits of these works Declan Cawley, Uisce Éireann, explained: “These essential works will benefit customers in the area by replacing ageing watermains with new and improved plastic pipes, which will strengthen and reinforce the water network. The immediate impact of this work will see an improvement to water supply in the area with reduced leakage rates and unplanned outages when bursts occur.

“Upon completion, there will be significant improvements in the network performance and levels of customer service in this area in terms of efficiency and security of supply.”

The works are scheduled to commence in early October along the N17 between two reservoirs; Castleloye Reservoir, which is located immediately north east of Tobercurry and a service reservoir at Muckelty, Co Sligo. Farrans Construction Ltd are contracted to carry out the work on behalf of Uisce Éireann which are due for completion in December 2021.

This project is one example of how Uisce Éireann is working in partnership with Sligo County Council to reduce leaks every day. Fixing leaks can be complicated with over 63,000km of water pipe in Ireland. Most leaks aren’t visible, resulting in precious water being lost but we are making progress. In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46%, by the end of 2019 it was 42%, it had reduced further to 40% at the end of 2020 and we are currently on course to achieving a national leakage rate of 38% by the end of 2021.

Declan added: “To facilitate the safe delivery of the works, there will be traffic management in place with local and emergency access maintained at all times.

“The works may involve some short-term water outages and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours’ notice prior to any planned water outages. We understand that this type of work can be inconvenient and works crews will make every effort to minimise any disruption these necessary works cause.

“This mains replacement work is part of a significant investment by Uisce Éireann to upgrade the water network in Sligo and we would like to thank customers in advance for their cooperation and patience while we complete this essential job.”

Customers can phone Uisce Éireann on 1800 278 278 if they have any questions about the project or check out the Supply and Service Updates section of our website for regular updates.

The National Leakage Reduction Programme helps provide a more reliable water supply to Irish communities by reducing high levels of leakage and improving water quality. Its delivery represents an investment of over €500 million between 2017 and the end of 2021 to reduce leakage and replace old pipes on the water network.

Uisce Éireann continues to work at this time with our Local Authority partners, contractors and others to safeguard the health and well-being of both staff and the public and to ensure the continuity of critical drinking water and wastewater services. Uisce Éireann would like to remind people to follow the current HSE COVID-19 advice and ensure frequent handwashing.

For more information on reducing leaks visit our National Leakage Reduction Programme project page.