Work is continuing to progress on upgrades at the old Leixlip Water Treatment Plant ahead of planned completion later this year.

Irish Water is leading the project, which looks to safeguard the water supply for homes and businesses in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA).

Works to upgrade the filters are scheduled to be complete in June 2020 and further works, including the provision of UV disinfection will also be completed this year. While these works are underway, the water production capacity of Leixlip water treatment plant has been significantly reduced.

Irish Water is appealing to customers to conserve water through actions such as, turning off the tap while brushing your teeth and shaving which can save up to six litres of water per minute. Keeping a jug of water in the fridge instead of running the cold tap can save 10 litres of water per day.

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Along with Local Authority partners, Irish Water is also fixing leaks and upgrading the water supply system. As part of its leakage reduction programme, Irish Water has replaced almost 90km of water mains in the Greater Dublin Area since 2018, which is the equivalent of two M50s.

The utility is also currently upgrading the Vartry Water Supply Scheme by building a new treatment plant in Vartry, and upgrading the treated water reservoir at Stillorgan. These upgrades are due to be completed in 2021.

Speaking about the upgrade works at Leixlip Water Treatment plant and the water supply in the Greater Dublin Area, John O'Donoghue, Regional Operations Manager, Irish Water, said: "Works at Leixlip Water Treatment plant are progressing well and the filter upgrades are on-schedule to be completed in June at which point we can bring the plant back to full treated drinking water production capacity. In the meantime, Irish Water and our Local Authority partners in the GDA are reminding customers to be mindful of their water use and to only use what they need. During the drought in Summer 2018, the conservation measures that people took in their homes and businesses helped to significantly reduce demand. However, when the urgency of a drought passes, and during cold, wet weather, it is easy to lose focus on how precious water is. Safe, clean, treated drinking water is not in unlimited supply. We are also encouraging the public to report any visible leaks via our customer contact centre so that they can be prioritised for repair."

(CM/MH)