Old, leaking water pipes to be replaced

One hundred-year-old pipes cracking under the pressure of modern Dublin are to be replaced with a multi-million euro investment.

Around 280km (174 miles) of old cast-iron water mains throughout Dublin, Bray and parts of Co Kildare and Wicklow will be renewed in a €118m scheme by Dublin City Council.

Work to remove the old and leaking water mains will start this summer in the south east of the city, affecting about 80 homes per day.

Householders and businesses will be without water for up to 10 hours a day, with the possibility of shorter shut-off periods in the days before and after.

However, the public have been assured they will be fully aware of the works well in advance so disruption is minimised.

The council has also vowed to do its utmost to facilitate special needs customers during any water cut-off.

A series of information leaflets and reminders will be delivered to all homes and businesses six weeks, one week and 48 hours before work commences in an area, and an emergency 24-hour contractor will be on duty.

“We will monitor each contract closely and if any contractor is not performing to our satisfaction we will not use them again and we’ll still have a pool of competent contractors who know the project,” said Deputy City Engineer Tom Leahy.

Many of the existing water mains were laid up to 100 years ago and, as a result of their age and increased workload, are leaking or corroded, resulting in millions of litres of high-quality drinking water being lost every day and poor water pressure in some areas. They will be replaced with modern, heavy-duty polyethylene pipes.

“Water conservation is critical to the sustainable use of our water resources,” said Minister for the Environment Dick Roche.

“Apart from the environmental benefits, the delivery of additional water supply through active leakage control programmes and mains rehabilitation and replacement works is a viable economic alternative to capital infrastructure provision.

“Water conservation, therefore, is a practical, realistic and economic way of meeting much of the extra demand for water generated by our expanding economy.

“Indeed, the single best example of this is Dublin where, since the mid-’90s, the city has managed to meet the requirements of phenomenal growth rates with a combination of modest increases in supply and a comprehensive leakage control campaign.”