Works continue to drive down leakage across Mullingar

Update - Works extended to Tuesday 25 January. Customers in Ballina, Kilpatrick, Habsorough, Strattonstown, Dundonnell, Byranstown and surrounding areas in Mullingar will experience temporary disruption between 9am and 1pm on Tuesday 25 January.

Securing the water supply in Westmeath remains a vital focus for Uisce Éireann with a number of projects planned for 2022 to drive down leakage and improve the water supply in the county. 

Last month, in partnership with Westmeath County Council, Uisce Éireann began an important project to replace old and problematic water mains along the R390 in Ballinea in Mullingar to reduce bursts and water outages that were impacting customers and provide them with a more reliable water supply. The works are progressing well and involve replacing almost 1.2km of old, problematic water mains with modern pipeline.

To continue to safely deliver these works, a temporary disruption to supply is required from 9am until 1pm tomorrow, Friday 21 January, Monday 24 January and Tuesday 25 January. Customers in the following areas will be impacted by low pressure and outages: Ballina, Kilpatrick, Habsorough, Strattonstown, Dundonnell, Byranstown and surrounding areas in Mullingar. 

Crews will make every effort to minimise the disruption to impacted customers and will work to complete these works as quickly and as efficiently as possible. It typically takes two to three hours following restoration time for the network to refill and normal water supply to fully return. 

Uisce Éireann and Westmeath County Council regret any inconvenience these essential upgrade works may cause. Customers can find helpful tips and advice on how to prepare for planned works and avoid issues with their water supply by visiting the Prepare for works in your area section of our website. Uisce Éireann and Westmeath County Council regret any inconvenience these necessary improvement works may cause. 

The works are being carried out on behalf of Uisce Éireann by GMC Utilities Ltd and are expected to be completed in February. 

Speaking about the project Matt Thomson, 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 Mullingar 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 of Mullingar 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 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 the Supply and Service Updates section of our website.

These works are an example of how Uisce Éireann is working in partnership with Westmeath 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%, and by the end of 2021 it was reduced to 38%.

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.