Work continues to drive down leakage and improve the water supply in Laois

Securing the water supply in Laois remains a vital focus for Uisce Éireann with works due to begin in the Swan Village area on Monday 31 January to drive down leakage and improve the water supply for customers.

Working in partnership with Laois County Council, Uisce Éireann is replacing 2.9km of old problematic water mains along the R430 through Swan Village with new, modern pipes which will reduce the number of bursts and water outages impacting the community. 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. These essential works will provide a more reliable water supply, reduce high levels of leakage and reduce the frequency of bursts improving water quality to homes and local businesses.

To minimise the impact on customers, areas of work will be limited to short sections. To facilitate the safe delivery of these works some traffic management may be necessary, however, local and emergency access will be maintained. The works may involve some short-term supply disruptions which we understand may cause inconvenience. The project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours' notice prior to any planned water interruptions. Uisce Éireann and Laois County Council regret any inconvenience these improvement works may cause.

Speaking about the project Joe Carroll, Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead with Uisce Éireann said: "These works are vital to ensure a more secure water supply to homes and businesses in Swan Village and are part of a significant investment by Uisce Éireann to safeguard the water supply. We understand this type of work can be inconvenient and we will ensure our work crews make every effort to minimise any disruption these necessary works may cause. We would like to thank the community for their patience and cooperation while we continue to deliver these vital water network improvement works and safeguard the water supply now and into the future."

The works will be carried out on behalf of Uisce Éireann by Ward & Burke Construction and are expected to be completed in late May.

Fixing leaks can be complicated but we are making progress. In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46%, by the end of 2021 it was reduced to 38%. For more information, please visit our Leakage Reduction section.

The Uisce Éireann customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates please visit our Water Supply Updates section.

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.