Irish Water has announced details of a €6.5 million investment in the Limerick City Water Mains Rehabilitation Project.

The Project will reduce leakage, improve customer supply and provide increased protection to human health. On completion, the works will result in the saving of an estimated 11 million litres of water per week in Limerick City, that’s enough water to fill four and a half Olympic sized swimming pools.

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The works to be undertaken by Irish Water will see the replacement of 11.1kms of problematic water mains, the decommissioning of 13.4km of problematic shared lead service pipes and the replacement of 1,914 customer service connections in various locations around the City including St. Mary’s Park and Ballinacurra Road.

The Limerick City Water Supply Scheme supplies drinking water to the City and its environs and many elements of the water distribution network, particularly old cast iron mains, are in poor physical condition which frequently leads to reduced levels of service and excessive bursts with associated interruption to supply.

Historically, shared lead services were used to supply blocks of houses in Limerick City. These services have come to cause problems with a high level of leakage that is difficult to pinpoint and repair and frequently results in reduced water pressure. Shared lead services are also a public health issue, with lead from the service pipe being absorbed into the water supply and potentially leading to levels of lead above the parametric limit for lead allowed under the Drinking Water Regulations.

Commenting on the works to be carried out by Irish Water which will address these issues, Aisling Buckley, Regional Information Officer at Irish Water said, ‘‘Irish Water has already completed Water main rehabilitation and replacement of lead services in Ballynanty and Kileely in Limerick City and worked closely with communities in those areas to deliver those projects. We look forward to commencing work on the next stage of Water main Rehabilitation and delivering improved water supply infrastructure to Limerick City.’

The rehabilitation and replacement of Limerick’s problematic water mains and the replacement of shared lead services will see reduced leakage, improved supply pressures, reduced disruption of supply, reduced operational and maintenance costs, increased protection of the health and wellbeing of customers and increased Regulatory compliance.’