Irish Water, in partnership with Carlow County Council cordially invite residents and businesses in Carlow town to a drop-in information evening on Thursday, May 2, 2019. The event will take place from 17.30-19.30 at the Seven Oaks Hotel on the Athy road.

Irish Water is replacing ageing water mains in the Dublin Street area of Carlow Town to provide a more reliable water supply, improve water quality and reduce high levels of leakage. The works involve the replacement of over 1,854 metres of old cast iron water mains with high density polyethylene (plastic) pipes in Carlow Town Centre and are scheduled to commence in late May 2019.

The works are being carried out as part of Irish Water’s National Leakage Reduction Programme which is part of the overall Irish Water investment plan dedicated to safeguarding our water for the future. The size and scale of the challenge to improve the water infrastructure requires a multi-billion, multi-annual investment and the leakage reduction programme is a vital part of this investment.

The benefits of the leakage reduction works include:

• A Reliable Water Supply – Replacement of water mains and service connections will reduce the instances of bursts and water outages and will ensure a reliable supply of water to customers and local businesses in the area.
• Improved water quality – Replacing existing old cast iron and lead from the public water network with new modern pipes will reduce the risk of contamination.
• Reduced Leaks – Replacement of water mains and service connections will eliminate existing leaks and reduce the amount of clean drinking water lost into the ground.
• Improved Operation and Maintenance – These works will deliver cost savings by providing improved water network operation that will require less maintenance in the future.

The majority of the works along Dublin Street will be completed by September, with full completion by the end of October. The works will also involve laying new water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers’ property boundaries and connecting it to the customers’ water supply.

The works will be sequenced to minimise disruption to local businesses and residents. The areas to benefit from these water network improvement works are:
Phase 1 – Kennedy Street and Burrin Street from Burrin Bridge to Castle Street
Phase 2 – Dublin Street from Castle Street to Centaur Street
Phase 3 – Dublin Street from Centaur Street to the Court House
Phase 4 – Bridewell Lane, Charlotte Street and Brown Street

Disruption to customers will be minimal with short sections of work being carried out at a time to minimise disruption. Traffic management will also be in place with local and emergency access maintained at all times.
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.