Uisce Éireann is working in partnership with Cork County Council to replace approximately 2.7km of old and damaged water mains in Clonakilty, Co Cork that were prone to frequent bursts and leakage. The existing watermains are being replaced with new modern pipes.

The section of works will start at the Woods Crossroads and work towards the R599 (Kilmeen) and then east towards Ballineen Bridge Cross.

Areas of work will be limited to short sections to minimise impact on customers. Traffic management will be in the form of an initial road closure from Woods Crossroad to Kilmeen. Then following this road closure, from the end of October to the completion of the project, a traffic light (stop and go) system will be in place on the R599. The diversion route will be communicated locally, however, local residential and emergency traffic will always be maintained.

The works are being carried out by Ward and Burke Construction Ltd on behalf of Uisce Éireann and are due to commence the week of 18 September. Works are expected to be completed by the end of the year. 

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Commenting on the project Paul Gray at Uisce Éireann said: "Uisce Éireann are continuing to successfully complete works in County Cork through our leakage reduction programme. Replacement of water mains and service connections will reduce the instances of bursts and water outages."

"To facilitate the safe delivery of the works, there will be some short-term local road closures and traffic management. The community will be notified of this in advance. Alternative routes will be available, and diversions will be clearly sign-posted. Local and emergency access will be maintained at all times. We would like to thank the people of Clonakilty in advance for their cooperation and patience while we complete these works."

"The works may involve some short-term water shut offs and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours' notice prior to any planned water shut offs. Uisce Éireann understands that this type of work can be inconvenient and work crews will make every effort to minimise any disruption."

Fixing leaks can be complicated. We have over 63,000 km of water pipes underground in Ireland – enough to circle the earth one and a half times. Most leaks aren't visible, resulting in precious water being lost but we are making progress. In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46%, by the end of 2022 it was 37%. We are on track to achieve a national leakage rate of 25% by the end of 2030.

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. Where the existing service connections on the public side are lead these are being replaced.