Irish Water upgrade to watermain works on Church Road, Swords from July 25th

Securing the water supply in Fingal remains a top priority for Irish Water as the intensive campaign continues to drive down leakage across Swords and improve the water supply to homes and businesses.

These projects continue to be delivered as part of Irish Water’s national Leakage Reduction Programme which is delivering significant benefits to local communities across Ireland including improved water quality, a more secure water supply and considerable water savings.

Working in partnership with Fingal County Council, Irish Water will replace over 250 meters of old and damaged, cast-iron water mains with modern, state-of-the-art pipes. This section of works will take place along Church Road progressing north to Bridge Street. Cast iron mains can, over time, become encrusted which can significantly impact water quality and pressure. Replacing these old, damaged pipes with new, modern pipework will greatly improve water quality and reduce the instances of bursts, outages, and low-pressure affecting customers in Swords. The project, which will begin next week, represents a significant investment by Irish Water and is expected to be completed by the end of August. 

Highlighting the importance of these upgrades, Matt Thomson, Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead with Irish Water, said, “We are delighted to announce this major investment in Swords. Replacing these old and damaged, cast iron water mains is the first step in tackling water quality, 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 will also significantly improve water quality for the local community as well as delivering a much more reliable supply for generations to come.

“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.”

Matt added “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 project also involves 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. The works on Church Road will require a temporary road closure which has been approved by the Local Authority and has been communicated locally. The road closure will be in place from Monday, 25 July to Friday, 19 August. Traffic flows will be diverted via Brackenstown Road and Rathbeale Road during this time with local access and emergency services access only. This project will also require some short-term supply interruptions to water supply which we understand may cause inconvenience to both businesses and local residents. The project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours’ notice prior to any planned water interruptions and the project is being delivered on behalf of Irish Water by GMC Utilities LTD.

Irish Water will also be seeking to progress with further water main replacement works on Bridge Street, Swords later in August. Details of any further upgrades will be communicated locally once confirmed.

Fixing leaks can be complicated but we are making progress. In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46%, by the end of 2021 it was reduced to 38%.  We are on track to achieve a national leakage rate of 25% by the end of 2030. For more information, please visit www.water.ie/reducingleaks.

The Irish Water customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates please visit the Water Supply Updates section of the Irish Water website.

Irish Water is responsible for the delivery of all public water and wastewater services in Ireland. We are committed to continuously upgrading and developing critical infrastructure to support the growth needed in housing and across our economy, while protecting the environment and safeguarding water supplies.