OVER 1,900 new water connections are about to be made to Limerick households that previously were serviced by a communal lead supply.
Confirming that the works will eliminate poorly performing water mains that had a history of high levels of leakage, Limerick City Council’s senior executive engineer, John O’Shaughnessy, said that due to the age of the network, many of the pipes, which are in poor condition and prone to bursts, leaks and low water pressure, have to be replaced.
Limerick City Council, in association with the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, have engaged contractors, Shareridge Ltd to carry out a Mains Rehabilitation Project within the city.
Pointing out that the project was set up to assist in reducing leakage by identifying and replacing old water mains that have outlived their usefulness, Mr O’Shaughnessy said it is estimated that up to 50 kilometres of the water mains network is over 80 years old.
“A budget of €7m has been provided by Central Government through the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and by the city council to be invested over the period 2010 to 2013,” he said.
Phase one of the project will involve the replacement of up to seven kilometres of water mains and will provide approximately 1,900 new individual water connections to households.
“It is expected that further packages will be tendered shortly, depending on the approval of the Department of Environment Community and Local Government,” said Mr O’Shaughnessy, who adds:
“The Limerick City Water Main Rehabilitation Project demonstrates the commitment of both central and local government to the ongoing conservation of water in the region, which is essential to our sustainable economic and physical development”.
It is estimated that the first phase of this project will be completed within nine months.
