Ballymore Eustace to Saggart pipe repairs progressing as planned

This Friday night, Uisce Éireann is starting critical and complex repair works to a major pipeline that supplies one third of the Greater Dublin Area’s (GDA) drinking water. These planned essential works will safeguard water supply for the GDA. The water running through this major pipeline will be turned off to facilitate these works. 

We are appealing to customers in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow to only use water for essential needs to help maintain everyone’s water supply during the critical repair works this bank holiday weekend. 

Uisce Éireann has prepared for these critical repair works by ensuring all treated water reservoirs in the Greater Dublin Area are as full as possible, and are carrying out the works during the August bank holiday weekend when there is usually a lower demand for water. However, there is still a risk that customers in Dublin and parts of Kildare and Wicklow may experience interruptions to their water supply including low pressure, discoloured water, or water outages.

Head of Water Operations at Uisce Éireann, Margaret Attridge, said: “This major pipeline can only be shut down for up to 28 hours before the water storage levels become too low, which could lead to widespread supply disruption. Therefore, the specialist repair crews have a very tight deadline to finish the repairs and refill the pipeline with water. We will work through the day and night this weekend to complete these essential works as quickly and safely as possible.

“We are asking for the public’s help to maintain water levels in the reservoirs for as long as possible; for this weekend we are appealing to everyone to act together and only use water for essential needs. Please hold off on filling baths, car washing, power hosing, window washing, filling paddling pools and anything that is not vital. Reducing your water use will help maintain or extend water supply during the repairs, for yourself and, importantly, for vulnerable and high-risk users including hospitals and care homes.”

Declan Healy, Programme Manager at Uisce Éireann, explained the complexity of the works. “We have extensively planned and prepared for carrying out these complex works over the last 9 months and are moving into the final stages before the repair begins tomorrow (Friday) night. “Specialist teams are ready to go inside the pipeline to repair five active leaks using bespoke methods, while another team will remove 35 metres of worn-out pipeline and install a new section of pipe.” 

The situation on the ground will be monitored closely. Uisce Éireann will keep customers updated on the location(s) and duration of any prolonged impacts including supply disruptions.

Following this type of work, occasionally issues such as cloudy water (air bubbles) or internal airlocks may arise. For advice on how to resolve these issues, please visit our Issues during or after an outage page. The Uisce Éireann customer care helpline is also open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on X @IWCare with any queries.

Click here to view an interactive map of the impacted area

Uisce Éireann acknowledges the inconvenience caused by interruptions to water supply and thanks communities for their patience and cooperation while we deliver these essential works.

To learn more about these works, visit our dedicated project page.

Uisce Éireann is carrying out critical and complex repair works to a major pipeline that connects Ballymore Eustace Water Treatment Plant and the Saggart Reservoir over the August Bank Holiday Weekend. This is a major pipeline that supplies one third of the Greater Dublin Area’s (GDA) drinking water and it will be turned off to facilitate these repairs. We have identified sections of the pipeline that are at risk of failing which could lead to a prolonged outage if not addressed. Several leaks have also been identified which will be addressed during the works.

While Uisce Éireann has prepared for these critical works by ensuring all treated water reservoirs in the GDA are as full as possible, there is still a risk customers in Dublin, Wicklow and parts of Kildare may possibly experience interruptions to their water supply including low pressure, discoloured water, or water outages. Just under a thousand customers in Kill, Arthurstown, Rathmore, Athgoe and Tipperkevin will definitely see an interruption to supply over the weekend and alternative water supplies will be provided.

We are making a major appeal to customers in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow to conserve water to help maintain everyone’s water supply during these essential repair works.

Click here to view an interactive map of the impacted area

Head of Water Operations at Uisce Éireann, Margaret Attridge, said: “This major pipeline can only be shut down for up to 28 hours before the water storage levels become too low, which could lead to widespread supply disruption. Therefore, the specialist repair crews have a very tight deadline to finish the repairs and refill the pipeline with water. We will work through the day and night this weekend to complete these essential works as quickly and safely as possible.

"We are asking for the public’s help to minimise the impact of this operation; for this weekend we are asking everyone to act together and only use water for essential needs. Please hold off on filling baths, car washing, power hosing, window washing, filling paddling pools and anything that is not vital. Reducing your water use will help maintain or extend water supply during the repairs, for yourself and, importantly, for vulnerable and high-risk users including hospitals and care homes."

Declan Healy, Programme Manager at Uisce Éireann, explained the complexity of the works. “We have extensively planned and prepared for carrying out these complex works over the last 9 months.We have identified sections of the pipeline that are at risk of failing which could lead to a prolonged outage if not addressed. We have also identified several leaks which we will address during the works.

“Specialist teams will repair five leaks and replace a damaged section of pipeline. To do this, the water flowing through the pipe will be turned off temporarily and the pipeline will be drained.

“Draining the pipe will allow specialist crews to go inside the pipeline to repair five active leaks using bespoke methods. Another specialist team will remove 35 metres of degraded pipeline and install a new section of pipeline.”

The repair's progress will be monitored closely and Uisce Éireann will keep customers updated as early as possible on the location(s) and duration of any prolonged impacts including supply disruptions, should they develop.

Following this type of work, occasionally issues such as cloudy water (air bubbles) or internal airlocks may arise. For advice on how to resolve these issues, please visit our Issues during or after an outage page. The Uisce Éireann customer care helpline is also open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on X @IWCare with any queries.

For updates and to see an interactive map of the areas impacted please visit the Water Supply Updates section of our website.

Uisce Éireann acknowledges the inconvenience caused by interruptions to water supply and thanks communities for their patience and cooperation while we deliver these essential works.