Half of water supplied by council lost through leaks in pipes

PRIVATE domestic water users will be quickly informed by Cork County Council officials if leaks are detected on their property once it is metered.

The move could save some households a fortune in bills as much of the estimated 33 million cu m of water leaking from pipes in the county last year was on private property.

County engineer Noel O’Keeffe said 49% of the water supplied by the council to 115,000 domestic and 20,000 non-domestic users was wasted through leaks, through both county council-owned mains and privately-owned pipes.

Mr O’Keeffe said local authority engineers had divided the county in 500 sections which would each be provided with district meters which will show where water is being lost, especially along the mains owned by the local authority.

“We are currently targeting areas where the worst leaks are present. At the moment, for example, we are working in Charleville and we have repaired 20 leaks in the town. They are not just in council mains but also within private property,” Mr O’Keeffe said.

The council also carried out a pilot project in Midleton designed particularly to inform householders of leaks in their properties.

“Domestic metering is likely to come on stream from 2014 and we will know if private households are using far more water than is likely, which will pinpoint a leak,” said Mr O’Keeffe. “We will tell them straight away.”

He said one of the council’s main priorities in the next two years will be to fix as many leaks in its 4,500km of distribution mains as possible.

The council knows it can not prevent all leaks, but its overall aim is to reduce water loss to a sustainable level, thereby minimising existing and future capital investments.

“The district meters should all be installed by the third quarter of this year which will help us immensely,” the county engineer said.

He said the council was also planning to remove more lead mains pipes from its distribution system.

According to figures released in the council’s annual budget report, 46% of the pipes in the county are made of uPVC, with asbestos pipes the second most common at 25%.

It has been estimated that 4.7% of the whole network piping is in very poor condition and needs replacing. That represents 218km of pipes and it would cost in the region of €23 million to replace them.