Quay Street Water Mains Replacement

Uisce Éireann, in partnership with Louth County Council, is replacing old problematic water mains in Quay Street, Co. Louth to provide a safe and secure water supply, improve water quality and reduce high levels of leakage.

Uisce Éireann is investing over €500 million between 2017- 2021 to reduce leakage and replace old pipes on the public water network. The benefits of this programme are:

• Replacing old pipes to reduce drinking water lost by leakage
• Fixing leaks to reduce disruption from bursts and outages
• Improving water quality
• Delivering savings on operation and maintenance of the network

Details of the project

The works involve the replacement of approximately 300 metres of problematic water mains with high density polyethylene (plastic) pipes along Quay Street, Dundalk. These works will commence in mid-March 2021. These works are being carried out as part of Uisce Éireann’s National Leakage Reduction Programme.

The works will also involve laying new water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers’ property boundaries and connecting it to the customer’s water supply. Where the existing service connections on the public side are lead these will be replaced as part of this improvement work.

The works will be carried out on behalf of Uisce Éireann by GMC Utilities and are expected to be completed by April 2021. 
 

What are the benefits of the works?

The benefits of the leakage reduction works include:

• A Reliable Water Supply – Replacement 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 and local businesses in the area.

• Improved water quality – Replacing existing old cast iron and lead from the public water network with new modern pipes will reduce the risk of contamination

• Reduced Leaks – Replacement of water mains and service connections will eliminate existing leaks and reduce the amount of clean drinking water lost into the ground.

• Improved Operation and Maintenance – These works will deliver cost savings by providing improved water network operation that will require less maintenance in the future.

Will customers be affected by the works?

Areas of work will be limited to short sections to minimise impact on customers. Traffic management may be in place during this time. There may be local diversions in place during the works. Local and emergency traffic will be maintained at all times.

The works may involve som short-term water shut offs and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours notice prior to any planned water shut offs.

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.

Residents and businesses in the areas to benefit from the planned improvements have been notified directly and customers can phone Uisce Éireann on 1800 278 278 if they have any questions about the project.

Uisce Éireann regrets any inconvenience these necessary water network improvements may cause. Details of any supply interruptions associated to this project will be updated regularly on the Supply and Service Updates section of our website.

This project is one example of how Uisce Éireann is working in partnership with Louth County Council to reduce leaks every day. Fixing leaks can be complicated with over 63,000km of water pipe but we are making progress. In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46%, by the end of 2019 it was 42% and we are currently on course to achieving a national leakage rate of 38% by 2021.

For more information on the Leakage Reduction Programme please visit the National Leakage Reduction Programme section of our website.