Summer promises improved water supply for Shercock

Before the first half of the year is out Shercock will have a much improved water supply.

Irish Water has announced plans to replace old cast iron water mains along the R187 Carrickmacross Road in Shercock, Co. Cavan with works due to begin in the coming days. 

The benefit from these works for homes and businesses in the Cavan town are immense with improved water quality and fewer outages expected to impact customers. The project will also reduce the amount of clean drinking water lost into the ground. 

Declan Cawley, Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead with Irish Water, is looking forward to ensuring customers in Shercock experience improved water quality along with fewer disruptions to their water supply from this summer on. 

“Working in partnership with Cavan County Council, we have prioritised leakage reduction works to those areas which need it most. This project will see the replacement of approximately 800m of old cast iron water mains. Replacing these pipes is a first step in tackling water quality, pressure, supply and leakage issues which affect homes and businesses in Shercock. The works will not only reduce the amount of drinking water lost to leakage, it will also significantly improve water quality for the local community as well as delivering a much more reliable supply for generations to come.”  

Declan added: “These ongoing projects are part of a significant investment by Irish Water to upgrade the water network across Cavan and we would like to thank customers for their continued cooperation and patience while we continue to upgrade and improve the water supply in the county.”

Farrans Construction Ltd will carry out the works on behalf of Irish Water and works are due to be completed by August.

Traffic management will be in place to facilitate the works on the R187 Carrickmacross Road however local and emergency traffic will be maintained at all times. 

Customers may experience some short-term interruptions to the water supply, but the team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48-hour notices prior to any planned water interruptions. Details of any supply interruption associated with the project will also be provided on the Water Supply Updates of the Irish Water website www.water.ie

Customers can also phone Irish Water on 1800 278 278 if they have any queries relating to the project. 

These works are being carried out under the national Leakage Reduction Programme. Since 2018, Irish Water has invested more than €500 million to upgrade the underground water network across the country by fixing leaks and replacing pipes and we are investing a further €250 million each year up to the end of 2030.  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 38%. We are on track to achieve a national leakage rate of 25% by the end of 2030.

For more information on the Leakage Reduction Programme please visit www.water.ie/reducingleaks  or the Shercock water mains replacement pdf