Uisce Éireann has made a major appeal to its customers in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow to conserve water before commencing its biggest planned critical and complex repair works in the area to date over this forthcoming August Bank Holiday weekend.

The works will target a major pipeline that connects Ballymore Eustace Water Treatment Plant and the Saggart Reservoir, supplying one third of the Greater Dublin Area's (GDA) drinking water. The pipeline will be turned off to facilitate these repairs.

Head of Water Operations at Uisce Éireann, Margaret Attridge, said: "This major pipeline can only be shut down for up to 28 hours before the water storage levels become too low, which could lead to widespread supply disruption. Therefore, the specialist repair crews have a very tight deadline to finish the repairs and refill the pipeline with water. We will work through the day and night this weekend to complete these essential works as quickly and safely as possible.

"We are asking for the public's help to minimise the impact of this operation; for this weekend we are asking everyone to act together and only use water for essential needs. Please hold off on filling baths, car washing, power hosing, window washing, filling paddling pools and anything that is not vital. Reducing your water use will help maintain or extend water supply during the repairs, for yourself and, importantly, for vulnerable and high-risk users including hospitals and care homes."

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Uisce Éireann has identified sections of the pipeline that are at risk of failing which could lead to a prolonged outage if not addressed. Several leaks have also been identified which will be addressed during the works.

While Uisce Éireann has prepared for these critical works by ensuring all treated water reservoirs in the GDA are as full as possible, there is still a risk customers in Dublin, Wicklow and parts of Kildare may possibly experience interruptions to their water supply including low pressure, discoloured water, or water outages.

Just under a thousand customers in Kill, Arthurstown, Rathmore, Athgoe and Tipperkevin will definitely see an interruption to supply over the weekend and alternative water supplies will be provided.

Declan Healy, Programme Manager at Uisce Éireann, explained the complexity of the works: "We have extensively planned and prepared for carrying out these complex works over the last nine months. We have identified sections of the pipeline that are at risk of failing which could lead to a prolonged outage if not addressed. We have also identified several leaks which we will address during the works.

"Specialist teams will repair five leaks and replace a damaged section of pipeline. To do this, the water flowing through the pipe will be turned off temporarily and the pipeline will be drained.

"Draining the pipe will allow specialist crews to go inside the pipeline to repair five active leaks using bespoke methods. Another specialist team will remove 35 metres of degraded pipeline and install a new section of pipeline."

The repair's progress will be monitored closely and Uisce Éireann will keep customers updated as early as possible on the location(s) and duration of any prolonged impacts including supply disruptions, should they develop.