Monday, 27 December 2021 | 4.6°C Dublin

Ecco Road, Dundalk. Photo: Aidan Dullaghan/Newspics

Old and damaged watermains along the Ecco Road have been replaced in an extensive programme led by Irish Water, it emerged this week.

T he watermains were prone to leaks and frequent bursts and were replaced with new high density, polyethylene (plastic) pipes to reduce high levels of leakage and improve the security of supply to homes and businesses in the area.

The works, which took place along Ecco Road involved the replacement of approximately 250 metres of old, problematic water mains and were delivered in adherence with current HSE and government COVID-19 advice.

GMC Utilities Ltd carried out the works on behalf of Irish Water.

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Speaking about the works Matt Thomson, Regional Lead with Irish Water, said “We are proactively operating throughout Louth to track down and repair leaking pipes with our colleagues in Louth County Council. These upgrades are part of a significant investment by Irish Water to upgrade the water network in Louth. There was a history of bursts and supply disruptions in the Ecco Road area and successful completion of these works will reduce water interruptions and the amount of clean drinking water lost to leakage. The installation of the new water mains and service connections will also help conserve this precious resource and improve levels of service for homes and businesses in the area. We would like to thank customers for their patience and cooperation as we continue to deliver these vital network improvements and safeguard the water supply now and into the future”.

Reflecting on the importance of the works for Dundalk, Matt said, “The replacement of these old pipes along Ecco Road will safeguard the water supply and have a positive impact on leakage and the daily lives of the local community. The project will also benefit residential and business customers in the area by improving the water network performance, reducing disruptions to water supply, reducing leakage rates and unplanned outages when bursts occurred on the existing mains.”

He added: “Completion of these works will also improve operational efficiencies by providing improved water network operation that will require less maintenance in the future. Permanent road reinstatement works will now be carried out in the coming weeks following the successful completion of this project.”

“These works are an example of how Irish Water 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 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 2020 it was reduced to 40% and we are currently on course to achieving a national leakage rate of 38% by the end of 2021.”

He added the national Leakage Reduction Programme, which will see €500 million invested up to the end of 2021, helps to reduce the level of leakage across the country by fixing and replacing old water mains

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