€30m to replace asbestos pipes

IT would cost more than €30 million to replace asbestos water mains in Kerry – work that’s unlikely to be done for many years.

There are 304km (11.25% of the total) of asbestos pipes in Kerry County Council’s network of water mains.

Raising the issue, Cllr Michael Gleeson said many of the pipes were more than 30-years-old, an age at which they could deteriorate rapidly. He said breaks were occurring frequently in some areas, especially in Fossa, Killarney, with staff being called to repair leaks to a degree that was embarrassing for everyone.

According to a report from council’s water department, the average age of the asbestos pipes is 35 years and only a small proportion of the network is prone to bursts, or significant leaks.

Engineers have estimated that up to 40% of water in public supplies throughout Kerry is wasted.

The council started a €3m water conservation project in 2005. Specialised leak detection and repair teams are currently working on the ground and, to date, over 2,000 leaks have been repaired.

A project to meter all non-domestic water users in Kerry is almost complete and more than 18,000 meters have been installed.

County manager Tom Curran said the metering project had resulted in considerable improvements in water conservation. However, the council would continue to contact customers with unusually high usages.

There has been increased monitoring of water supplies for cryptosporidium and, in its 2010 budget, the council has set aside €150,000 for the expansion of its cryptosporidium monitoring programme.

Kerry had an overall compliance rate of almost 97% with drinking water regulations, according to 2007 EPA report.