Three Leitrim villages save water with mains upgrade

Not one, not two but three Leitrim communities are putting a stop to the loss of drinking water underground and safeguarding their water supply for the future.

Upgrades to water mains at Drumshanbo's Hilly Road and Newtownmanor and the replacement of 2km of ageing mains in Keshcarrigan, will have significant benefits for Uisce Éireann's customers.

Uisce Éireann, working in partnership with Leitrim County Council, has already delivered the upgrades to Hilly Road and Newtownmanor with works in Keshcarrigan due to begin shortly.

Speaking about the three projects, Uisce Éireann's National Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead, Declan Cawley said: "customers in all three areas can look forward to a more reliable supply.

"Replacing old water mains not only reduces the risk of contamination and improves water quality but it's good news for the overall network as it means less maintenance and fewer outages in the future.

"Securing the water supply in Leitrim is a focus for us and Leitrim County Council and these works will further drive down leakage in the area and help meet the future demands of the county."

In Drumshanbo, home to Ireland's first floating boardwalk, Uisce Éireann removed 130metres of old cast iron and lead from the public water network along the L-3384 at Hilly Road and replaced it with new pipes.

In Newtownmanor, Uisce Éireann installed high density plastic pipes for 425 metres along the L4151 from Newtownmanor Community Hall to Leckaun Crossroads. These will significantly improve the reliability of the water supply for customers who have been affected by water outages.

Meanwhile, more than 2kms of water mains along the R209 from Keshcarrigan in the direction of Castlefore and Drumlitten will soon be removed and replaced with modern pipes. The works in the village will also involve laying new water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers' boundaries. Where existing connections on the public side are lead, these too will be replaced.

These works, which will help reduce the amount of drinking water lost into the ground, are expected to be complete in early 2022.

In order to minimise disruptions in Keshcarrigan, areas of work will be limited to shorts sections and customers will be given a minimum of 48 hours' notice prior to any planned water interruptions. Traffic management will be in place with local and emergency access maintained at all times,

"We understand that this type of work can be inconvenient, and crews will make every effort to minimise any disruptions these necessary works may cause," Declan added.

Uisce Éireann and Leitrim County Council thank the people of Drumshanbo and Newtownmanor and Keshcarrigan for their patience.

Leitrim County Council's Senior Executive Engineer, Peadar Griffin is "looking forward to have all three projects completed.

""As a result of the collaboration between Leitrim County Council and Uisce Éireann, customers are enjoying a more secure and reliable water supply. The replacement of these water mains is good news to a lot of people in Drumshanbo, Newtownmanor and Keshcarrigan."

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.

As part of the National Leakage Reduction Programme, €500 million is being invested up to the end of 2021 to reduce the level of leakage across the country by fixing and replacing old and damaged water mains. This will ensure a safe, reliable water supply, which is vital for our health, our environment and our growing population and economy.

For more information on reducing leaks, visit our national Leakage Reduction Programme page.