Businesses brace for disruption over €20m water pipe works around Cork's MacCurtain St

One of Cork City’s busiest hotel and restaurant districts is bracing for disruption and water outages during a €20m Irish Water pipe replacement project.

The utility confirmed yesterday that it plans to start replacing old water mains serving a vast area north of the River Lee, on MacCurtain St, St Patrick’s Hill, and surrounding streets, by the end of next month.

It will involve decommissioning old and damaged cast iron water mains, much of which dates back to the early 1900s, replacing them with ductile iron and plastic, or polyethylene, pipes.