Portlaoise Backyard Services - Dr. Murphy Place

Uisce Éireann working in partnership with Laois County Council have begun survey works to decommission ageing back yard water mains and provide new service connections for customers in Dr. Murphy Place, Portlaoise to reduce leakage, improve water quality and ensure a safer more secure supply.

The works will involve the decommissioning of problematic old cast iron back yard water services. A new main was previously constructed in this community which has connections off the main to existing boundary boxes. Now the final connections will be made from the boundary boxes to customers properties to provide them with this new improved service.

Service connections are the pipes that connect a customer’s property to the public water mains. It is likely that the service connections from the old back yard main are currently made from lead. New connections will be constructed with modern high density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic pipes to ensure a safer, more reliable supply of water to customers in this community.

These works will be carried out by Ward & Burke Construction Ltd on behalf of Uisce Éireann.

Benefits

A reliable water supply

• Renewal of water mains and service connections will reduce the instances of bursts and water outages and will ensure a reliable supply of water to customers in the area

Reduced leaks

• Repairs to water mains and service connections will eliminate existing leaks and reduce the amount of clean drinking water lost into the ground

Improved Water Quality

• Removing existing old cast iron and lead from the water network and replacing them with new plastic pipes will reduce the risk of contamination

Improved operation and maintenance

• These works will deliver cost savings by providing improved water network operation that will require less maintenance in the future