Uisce Éireann successfully completes connection of major new pipeline for North County Dublin
02 March 2023
Information below is relevant until further updates are provided here or on our Supply and Service Updates section.
Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Fingal County Council is progressing the final phase of the construction of a major new pipeline between Ballycoolin Reservoir and Swords, to secure the water supply for over 350,000 customers across North County Dublin.
In order to safely connect the new pipeline into the existing water network, a significant planned outage was necessary on Sunday 26 February. In order to reduce disruption for customers, Uisce Éireann and our colleagues in Fingal County Council, supported by Dublin City Council, reconfigured the water network to maintain supply to as many areas as possible.
To minimise disruption as much as possible to impacted homes and businesses, water services experts worked throughout the night, completing the works on schedule. Due to the size of the pipes and network, it took approximately 10 hours for the water supply to fully restore to all customers. The water was initially returned at low pressure to avoid issues such as leaks or bursts on the network before normal supply was restored. Unfortunately, due to low reservoir levels and high demand, some customers in parts of Skerries experienced temporary low pressure and outages for a number of hours. Due to a secondary issue in parts of the network, some customers in the East Side of Malahide were without water for longer than planned and Uisce Éireann regrets the inconvenience to impacted customers.
Uisce Éireann would like to thank all customers who helped reservoirs and the network to recover by continuing to conserve water where possible. Uisce Éireann would also like to thank all our stakeholders who supported in the sharing of messages before and during the planned interruption.
William McKnight, Uisce Éireann, commented: “We understand that the planned connection works were disruptive to the local community but would like to thank everyone across north County Dublin for their patience during the interruption and conservation efforts on return of supply.
William added: “This is a hugely important project for the people of North County Dublin and for the wider GDA in terms of delivering a sufficient and sustainable water supply to all. I would like to thank our specialist water crews in GMC Utilities Group Ltd and Fingal County Council who worked throughout the night to limit the impact on customers and successfully complete this major piece of infrastructure work.”
The project is being carried out by GMC Utilities Group Ltd on behalf of Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Fingal County Council. For more information, please visit our dedicated Ballycoolin to Kingstown Trunk Water Mains project page.
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.
Previous Updates
- Water tanker at Skerries Mills, Car Park
- Tanker in Donabate has been relocated to beach public car park
Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Fingal County Council is progressing the final phase of construction of a major new pipeline between Ballycoolin Reservoir and Swords, to secure the water supply for over 350,000 customers across North County Dublin.
In order to safely connect the new pipeline to the public network, the water supply to North County Dublin was switched off from 1am this morning. Water services crews worked throughout the night and have successfully completed the connection works and water is beginning to slowly return. Crews will continue to closely monitor the local network to ensure any issues such as leaks or bursts are quickly identified and fixed until water supplies are fully restored.
Due to the size of the pipes and network, it may take up to 10 hours for normal supply to return to all customers in the following areas as water refills the network, especially for those on higher ground or at the end of the network: Swords, Santry, Malahide, Portmarnock, Kinsealy, Ballyboughal, Lissenhall, Donabate, Portrane, Turvey, Loughshinny, Palmerstown (Fingal), Rush, Lusk and nearby M1 service stations and surrounding areas. Please see attached map of impacted areas. Customers in parts of skerries may also experience low pressure and/or outages as the water network recharges.
Uisce Éireann appeals to all communities across North County Dublin to conserve water where possible
Today especially, Uisce Éireann is appealing to all customers in North County Dublin to help conserve water where possible to allow the network to fully recharge and enable the water supply to return to impacted customers as quickly as possible. Simple water conservation efforts can have a big impact such as not running taps needlessly, taking showers instead of baths and postponing the use of dishwashers and washing machines where possible. Further information on water conservation is available on our website at our Conservation page. Vulnerable customers who have registered with Uisce Éireann receive direct communications for planned and unplanned outages lasting more than four hours.
Alternative water supply locations
To support customers, alternative water supplies are available at the following locations until all supplies have returned to normal:
- Tesco Shopping Centre in Rush;
- Rathmore Park Car Park in Lusk;
- Seaview Park Car Park in Portrane;
- St. Finian's Catholic Church in Swords South;
- St. Colmcille's GAA Club in Swords North;
- Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Malahide;
- Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Club and
- Skerries Mills, Car Park.
Please note, that the water tanker in Donabate has been relocated to the beach car park.
Customers are reminded to use their own containers when taking water from the tanker and, as a precaution, boil the water before drinking.
William McKnight, Uisce Éireann, commented: “We understand that this necessary outage may be disruptive to the local community and we are continuing to work hard to restore normal water supply as quickly as possible while monitoring the existing water main closely to ensure any issues are identified immediately and rectified.
“We are appealing to communities in these areas to continue to conserve water where possible and to only use what they need to allow the network to fully recharge. This is especially important in areas of the network where water supplies have already returned, and in surrounding areas which were not impacted, to allow water to return to all areas including the extremities of the network. There are lots of tips on how to conserve water on our Conservation section.”
William added: “This is a hugely important project for the people of North County Dublin and for the wider GDA in terms of delivering a sufficient and sustainable water supply to all. I would like to thank our specialist water crews in GMC Utilities Group Ltd and Fingal County Council who worked throughout the night to limit the impact on customers and successfully complete this major piece of work.”
The project is being carried out by GMC Utilities Group Ltd on behalf of Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Fingal County Council. For more information, please visit our dedicated project webpage, www.water.ie/ballycoolin-trunkmain.
Following this type of work, occasionally issues such as cloudy water (air bubbles), discolouration or internal airlocks may arise. For advice on how to resolve these issues, please visit www.water.ie/help/supply/after-an-outage/. The Uisce Éireann customer care helpline is also open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries.
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.
Apeal to communities across all North County Dublin to conserve water and help supply return to impacted customers
Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Fingal County Council is progressing the final phase of construction of a major new pipeline between Ballycoolin Reservoir and Swords, to secure the water supply for over 350,000 customers across North County Dublin.
In order to safely connect the new pipeline to the public network, the water supply to North County Dublin was switched off from 1am this morning. Water services crews worked throughout the night and have successfully completed the connection works and water is beginning to slowly return. Crews will continue to closely monitor the local network to ensure any issues such as leaks or bursts are quickly identified and fixed until water supplies are fully restored.
Due to the size of the pipes and network, it may take up to 10 hours for normal supply to return to all customers in the following areas as water refills the network, especially for those on higher ground or at the end of the network: Swords, Santry, Malahide, Portmarnock, Kinsealy, Ballyboughal, Lissenhall, Donabate, Portrane, Turvey, Loughshinny, Palmerstown (Fingal), Rush, Lusk, nearby M1 service stations and surrounding areas. Please see attached map of impacted areas.
Uisce Éireann appeals to all communities across North County Dublin to conserve water where possible
Today especially, Uisce Éireann is appealing to all customers in North County Dublin to help conserve water where possible to allow the network to fully recharge and enable the water supply to return to impacted customers as quickly as possible. Simple water conservation efforts can have a big impact such as not running taps needlessly, taking showers instead of baths and postponing the use of dishwashers and washing machines where possible. Further information on water conservation is available on our website at www.water.ie/conserve. Vulnerable customers who have registered with Uisce Éireann receive direct communications for planned and unplanned outages lasting more than four hours.
Alternative water supply locations
To support customers, alternative water supplies are available at the following locations until all supplies have returned to normal: Tesco Shopping Centre in Rush; Rathmore Park Car Park in Lusk; Seaview Park Car Park in Portrane; Donabate/Portrane Community Centre Car Park; St. Finian's Catholic Church in Swords South; St. Colmcille's GAA Club in Swords North; Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Malahide; and Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Club. Customers are reminded to use their own containers when taking water from the tanker and, as a precaution, boil the water before drinking.
William McKnight, Uisce Éireann, commented: “We understand that this necessary outage may be disruptive to the local community and we are continuing to work hard to restore normal water supply as quickly as possible while monitoring the existing water main closely to ensure any issues are identified immediately and rectified.
“We are appealing to communities in these areas to continue to conserve water where possible and to only use what they need to allow the network to fully recharge. This is especially important in areas of the network where water supplies have already returned, and in surrounding areas which were not impacted such as Skerries and Balbriggan, to allow water to return to all areas including the extremities of the network. There are lots of tips on how to conserve water on our Conservation section.”
William added: “This is a hugely important project for the people of North County Dublin and for the wider GDA in terms of delivering a sufficient and sustainable water supply to all. I would like to thank our specialist water crews in GMC Utilities Group Ltd and Fingal County Council who worked throughout the night to limit the impact on customers and successfully complete this major piece of work.”
The project is being carried out by GMC Utilities Group Ltd on behalf of Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Fingal County Council. For more information, please visit our dedicated project webpage, www.water.ie/ballycoolin-trunkmain.
Following this type of work, occasionally issues such as cloudy water (air bubbles), discolouration or internal airlocks may arise. For advice on how to resolve these issues, please visit www.water.ie/help/supply/after-an-outage/. The Uisce Éireann customer care helpline is also open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries.
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.
Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Fingal County Council, is progressing a crucial project to upgrade and secure the water supply for over 350,000 customers across North County Dublin. The €28m investment involves the construction of a major new pipeline between Ballycoolin Reservoir and Swords, ensuring a more secure and reliable water supply to homes, businesses, hospitals and farms for generations to come. The additional infrastructure will also enable social and economic development across the region, catering for current and future population growth.
The existing water supply network serving the North County Dublin Region depends on a single large-diameter, concrete water pipeline that was built in the 1960s, connecting Ballycoolin Reservoir to Swords. The concrete water pipeline transfers approximately 60 million litres of water daily to North County Dublin but is operating beyond its capacity, resulting in low pressure across the region during periods of peak demand. As this pipeline is a critical piece of the supply network, it cannot be taken out of service to be upgraded. To address this, Uisce Éireann is constructing a parallel, ductile iron pipeline that will have the capacity to distribute 90 million litres of drinking water per day at high pressure from Ballycoolin reservoir to homes and businesses across North County Dublin, including Dublin Airport. It will allow available drinking water to be diverted to areas during emergency repairs or improvement works on the existing concrete pipeline, avoiding supply disruptions for customers, and providing a more secure and reliable water supply for current and future generations. The new water pipeline will also provide increased capacity, enabling long term social and economic growth and development across the region.
To date, construction of the new pipeline has progressed without impacting customers’ water supply. Uisce Éireann is now set to commence the final phase of the project, with the new pipeline ready to be connected to the existing water network at a location on the outskirts of Swords.
Customers advised of a significant outage this Sunday, 26 February
In order to safely facilitate the new connection, it will be necessary for the water supply to be switched off for a period of time until the connection works are completed. To minimise disruption as much as possible to homes and businesses, the outage will commence this Sunday, 26 February from 1am until approximately 11am. It is planned that supply will begin to return after this time. However, due to the size of the pipes and network, it could take up to 10 hours for normal supply to return to all customers as water refills the network, especially for those on higher ground or at the end of the network. The outage will impact customers in the following areas: Swords, Santry, Malahide, Portmarnock, Kinsealy, Ballyboughal, Lissenhall, Donabate, Portrane, Turvey, Loughshinny, Palmerstown (Fingal), Rush, Lusk, nearby M1 service stations and surrounding areas. Please see attached map of impacted areas.
As per best practice, most homes and businesses will have on-site water storage to provide a backup source of water for sanitation purposes. Uisce Éireann advises customers to familiarise themselves with their storage capacity.
Vulnerable customers who have registered with Uisce Éireann receive direct communications for planned and unplanned outages lasting more than four hours.
Alternative water supply locations
To support customers, Uisce Éireann and Fingal County Council will provide an alternative water supply at the following locations until supplies have returned to normal: Tesco Shopping Centre in Rush; Rathmore Park Car Park in Lusk; Seaview Park Car Park in Portrane; Donabate/Portrane Community Centre Car Park; St. Finian's Catholic Church in Swords South; St. Colmcille's GAA Club in Swords North; Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Malahide; and Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Club. Customers are reminded to use their own containers when taking water from the tanker and, as a precaution, boil the water before drinking.
Speaking about the critical nature of the project in terms of the GDA’s water supply, William McKnight, Uisce Éireann, commented: “The water supply and demand balance in Dublin and the wider Greater Dublin Area is tight as we use almost every drop of water produced each day. The delivery of this project along with a number of other ambitious projects across the GDA will not only help increase the security and resilience of the drinking water supply, it will also provide the infrastructure needed to support the building of houses and schools and attract new industry to allow companies to expand and grow.
William added: “We understand that this necessary outage may be disruptive to the local community which is why experienced water services crews will work throughout the night to complete the connection and restore normal water supply as quickly as possible. I’d like to reassure our customers that the short-term inconvenience will be overshadowed by the long-term benefits that this new pipeline will deliver across North County Dublin.” A med / broadcast-ready soundbite is available at https://on.soundcloud.com/PYWiS.
The project is being carried out by GMC Utilities Ltd on behalf of Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Fingal County Council. For more information, please visit our dedicated Ballycoolin to Kingstown Trunk Water Mains project webpage.
Following this type of work, occasionally issues such as cloudy water (air bubbles), discolouration or internal airlocks may arise. For advice on how to resolve these issues, please visit our Issues during or after an outage page. The Uisce Éireann customer care helpline is also open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries.
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.
Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Fingal County Council, is progressing a crucial project to upgrade and secure the water supply for over 350,000 customers across North County Dublin. The €28m investment involves the construction of a major new pipeline between Ballycoolin Reservoir and Swords, ensuring a more secure and reliable water supply to homes, businesses, hospitals and farms for generations to come. The additional infrastructure will also enable social and economic development across the region, catering for current and future population growth.
The existing water supply network serving the North County Dublin Region depends on a single large-diameter, concrete water pipeline that was built in the 1960s, connecting Ballycoolin Reservoir to Swords. The concrete water pipeline which transfers approximately 60 million litres of water daily to North County Dublin is operating beyond its capacity, resulting in low pressure across the region during periods of peak demand. As the concrete water pipeline is a critical piece of the supply network, it cannot be taken out of service to be upgraded. To address this, Uisce Éireann is constructing a parallel, ductile iron pipeline that will have the capacity to distribute 90 million litres of drinking water per day at high pressure from Ballycoolin reservoir to homes and businesses across North County Dublin, including Dublin Airport. It will also allow available drinking water to be diverted to areas during emergency repairs or improvement works on the existing concrete pipeline, avoiding supply disruptions for customers, and providing a more secure and reliable water supply for current and future generations. The new water pipeline will also provide increased capacity, enabling long term social and economic growth and development across the region.
To date, construction of the new pipeline has progressed without impacting customers’ water supply. Uisce Éireann is now set to commence the final phase of the project, with the new pipeline ready to be connected to the existing water network at a location on the outskirts of Swords.
Customers advised of a significant outage on Sunday, 26 February
In order to safely facilitate the new connection, it will be necessary for the water supply to be switched off for a period of time until the connection works are completed. To minimise disruption as much as possible to homes and businesses, the outage will commence in the early morning of Sunday, 26 February from 1am until approximately 11am. It is planned that supply will begin to return after this time. However, due to the size of the pipes and network, it could take up to 10 hours for normal supply to return to all customers as water refills the network, especially for those on higher ground or at the end of the network. The outage will impact customers in the following areas: Swords, Santry, Malahide, Portmarnock, Kinsealy, Ballyboughal, Lissenhall, Donabate, Portrane, Turvey, Loughshinny, Palmerstown (Fingal), Rush, Lusk, nearby M1 service stations and surrounding areas.
As per best practice, most homes and businesses will have on-site water storage to provide a backup source of water for sanitation purposes. Uisce Éireann advises customers to familiarise themselves with their storage capacity.
Alternative water supply locations
To support customers during the outage, Uisce Éireann and Fingal County Council will provide an alternative water supply at the following locations until supplies have returned to normal: Tesco Shopping Centre in Rush; Rathmore Park Car Park in Lusk; Seaview Park Car Park in Portrane; Donabate/Portrane Community Centre Car Park; St. Finian's Catholic Church in Swords South; St. Colmcille's GAA Club in Swords North; Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Malahide; and Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Club. Customers are reminded to use their own containers when taking water from the tanker and to boil water before consumption as a precautionary measure as per HSE advice.
Speaking about the critical nature of the project in terms of the GDA’s water supply, William McKnight, Uisce Éireann, commented: “The water supply and demand balance in Dublin and the wider Greater Dublin Area is tight as we use almost every drop of water produced each day. The delivery of this project along with a number of other ambitious projects across the GDA will not only help increase the security and resilience of the drinking water supply, it will also provide the infrastructure needed to support the building of houses and schools and attract new industry to allow companies to expand and grow.
William added: “We understand that this necessary outage may be disruptive to the local community which is why experienced water services crews will work as quickly as possible to complete the connection and restore normal water supply. I’d like to reassure our customers that the short-term inconvenience will be overshadowed by the long-term benefits that this new pipeline will deliver across North County Dublin.”
The project is being carried out by GMC Utilities Group Ltd on behalf of Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Fingal County Council.
Following this type of work, occasionally issues such as cloudy water (air bubbles) or internal airlocks may arise. For advice on how to resolve these issues, please visit the Issues during or after an outage section of our website. The Uisce Éireann customer care helpline is also open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates please visit the Water Supply Updates section of our 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.