Irish Water is moving forward with plans to improve the security of supply in Athlone, Co Westmeath.

The utility is progressing with further water main works, which will see the replacement of over 400 metres of old and broken water mains in the Retreat Heights area of the town with new, high density polyethylene (plastic) pipes. The works will also involve laying new water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers' property boundaries and connecting it to the customer’s water supply. Where existing service connections on the public side are lead these will be replaced as part of this improvement work.

To minimise the impact on customers, areas of work will be limited to short sections. Traffic management may be in place during this time to facilitate the safe delivery of these works, however, local and emergency access will be maintained. The works may involve some short-term supply disruptions which may cause inconvenience. The project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours' notice prior to any planned water outages. Irish Water and Westmeath County Council regret any inconvenience these improvement works may cause.

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The works, which are scheduled to begin in mid-August, will be carried out on behalf of Irish Water by GMC Utilities and are expected to be completed by the end of September. These essential works will be delivered in adherence with the HSE and government guidance on COVID-19.

Speaking about the project Matt Thomson, Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead with Irish Water said: "We understand that this type of work can be inconvenient and will ensure our work crews make every effort to minimise any disruption these works may cause. We would like to thank the local community, businesses, homeowners and commuters for their patience and cooperation while we deliver these vital water network improvement works to safeguard the water supply in Athlone."