A campaign to reduce leakage across Ireland is continuing in County Westmeath.

Irish Water is leading the works as part of its national Leakage Reduction Programme.

The utility is working with Westmeath County Council, Irish Water is replacing over 1.2km of old and damaged, water mains, in Rathcolman, Mullingar along the R392 and adjacent road, the L1801. Aged pipes over time can significantly impact water quality, leakage levels, and pressure. Replacing these old, damaged pipes with new, modern pipework will greatly reduce the instances of bursts, outages, and low-pressure affecting customers. The project, which will begin next week, represents a significant investment by Irish Water.

Highlighting the importance of these upgrades, Matt Thomson, Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead with Irish Water, said: "We are delighted to announce this major investment for Mullingar. Replacing these old and damaged pipes is a first step in tackling water pressure and leakage issues which have been affecting homes and businesses. The works will not only reduce the amount of drinking water lost to leakage, it will deliver a much more reliable supply for generations to come.

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"To minimise the impact on the local community, we are delivering these works on a phased basis with areas of work limited to short sections.

"On behalf of Irish Water, I would like thank the local community in advance for their patience and cooperation as traffic management will be necessary as the project progresses, however, based on previous experiences, we know that the short-term inconvenience will be overshadowed by the long-term benefits."

The works 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. The works may involve some short-term supply interruptions which we understand may cause inconvenience, however, the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours' notice prior to any planned water interruptions. 

The project is being delivered on behalf of Irish Water by GMC Utilities Group and is expected to be completed in November 2022.