Irish Water is continuing to progress with a national campaign to reduce leakage, with work now taking place across County Offaly.

The utility is working with Offaly County Council to replace old water mains in Fahy to provide a more reliable water supply and reduce high levels of leakage.

The project involves the replacement of almost 800 metres of aged, problematic water mains along the R400 from Fahy to Rhode Village. These old mains, which are prone to frequent bursts and leakage which is impacting customers' supplies, will be replaced with modern pipes, ensuring a more reliable supply of water to homes and businesses. The project will significantly reduce the amount of clean drinking water lost into the ground.

Joe Carroll, Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead with Irish Water, said: "We are delighted to announce this major investment for Fahy. 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, but it will also 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 each 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. 

Ward & Burke Construction is delivering the works on behalf of Irish Water. They are due to begin this week and expected to be completed within 10 weeks.