Uisce Éireann to flush out Cork City's dirty water problem

The intensive programme will start on Wednesday night with workers isolating and flushing small sections of the water network to clear any build-up of sediment from the old cast iron pipes.

Uisce Éireann will blast old sediment from the water network across Cork's northside as part of a major month-long flushing operation designed to address the city’s dirty water problem.

The intensive programme will start on Wednesday night with workers isolating and flushing small sections of the water network to clear any build-up of sediment from the old cast iron pipes.

The work will be done at night-time, during off peak usage hours, typically starting after 8pm, in the hope that the network will have time to return to normal before morning demand starts, reducing the potential for discoloured water at customers’ taps.

The first round of flushing will start at 8pm on Wednesday in the Montenotte and Gurranabraher areas, with other areas set to be targeted over the coming weeks.

The Montenotte locations extend from Cahergal Park and Lawn to Tracton Avenue and Woodlands and from Iona Park to Gardiner’s Hill including Merrion Court, Murmont, St Joseph’s Drive and The Orchards.

The Gurranabraher locations extend from St Mary’s Avenue off Cathedral Road to Glen Ryan Road to Winter's Hill, Blarney Street, Sunday’s Well Avenue, Strawberry Hill, The Grove, Monastery Green, St Joseph’s Avenue, Mount Nebo Avenue, Friar Avenue, Boyce’s Street, Beech Tree Avenue to Clover Avenue and adjoining areas.

The utility said as works progress through the area, signage will be put in place, and it advised customers to check the supply and services section of its website www.water.ie for updates. The effectiveness of the flushing operation in each zone will also be assessed before workers move to the next zone.

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Water Operations Lead for Uisce Éireann, Sean Lynch, said Wednesday's work is just the start of an extensive flushing plan for the water network on the city's northside that will take place over the coming weeks. It is anticipated the works will take three to four weeks.

Isolating an area of the pipe network for flushing from the larger network minimises disruption and improves sediment removal, the utility said.

But it warned that clearing the pipes like this can result in any sediment that may be dislodged carrying through to customers’ taps resulting in increased instances of discoloured water in the short-term.

It repeated its advice not to drink discoloured water, and urged people with discoloured water to run their tap for up to 20 minutes until it runs clear.