'Half a million litres of water a day' saved due to Rhode and Croghan leak repairs

Irish Water says it has saved nearly half a million litres of water per day in the neighbouring towns of Rhode and Croghan as a result of leakage reduction and repair works.

The amount of water saved by the project is enough to supply over 3,500 people per day, according to Irish Water which worked on the leak repair scheme in partnership with Offaly County Council.

The works involved replacing old and damaged water mains as well as providing new service connections; finding and fixing leaks; and controlling and managing pressure more effectively to improve security of water supply.

This has significantly reduced the number of bursts, water outages and incidents of low water pressure, resulting in a more reliable water supply for homes and businesses in Rhode and Croghan, Irish Water said.

It added that, since 2018, nearly 4.5km of new water mains have been installed in several areas across Rhode including Fahy, Clonin Reservoir, Toberdaly, Edenderry Road and from Fahy to Ballybritton.

Twenty old lead service connections have also been replaced in St Patrick’s Avenue, increasing the security of supply.

In Croghan, installation of pressure reducing valves (PRV) is said to have significantly improved water pressure for homes and businesses.

Irish Water added that, through its 'find and fix' repair scheme, 75 public side leaks have been repaired. Nineteen of these were in Croghan, while in Rhode there were repairs to 56 leaks in areas such as Garcarrig, Clonin and Fahy.

Commenting on the works, Joe Carroll, Regional Lead with Irish Water's Leakage Reduction Programme, said: "Since being involved in the Leakage Reduction Programme across County Offaly, I have seen first-hand how efforts to tackle leakage through the different types of work streams have directly benefited local residents and businesses.

"In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46%, by the end of 2019 it was 42%, and we are currently on course to achieve a national leakage rate of 38% by the end of 2021.

"We would like to thank the communities, businesses, homeowners and commuters for their patience and cooperation as we continue to deliver vital network improvement works across the county helping safeguard the water supply."

Seamus Walshe, Executive Engineer, Offaly County Council, added: "As a result of the collaborative work between Irish Water and Offaly County Council, local communities across Offaly are enjoying a more secure and reliable water supply.

"Fixing leaks can be complicated with over 63,000km of water pipes in Ireland. Most leaks aren't visible, resulting in precious water being lost, but we are making progress and efforts to reduce leakage are continuing through the national Leakage Reduction Programme.

"We remain committed to successfully delivering this programme of works and improving the overall water supply in County Offaly," he concluded.