Irish Water replacing backyard connections in Laois town

Irish Water, in partnership with Laois County Council, has begun replacing backyard connections to houses in Portarlington.  

Irish Water will replace almost 500 metres of ageing and problematic backyard service connections in St Michael’s Park to provide a more reliable water supply, improve water quality and reduce the amount of treated drinking water lost to leakage.

The works, which are underway, are a critical step in conserving water and reducing high levels of leakage which have been a significant source of disruption and outages for customers.  

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Backyard services are found in older areas, often installed to the rear of a customer’s property and typically made of cast iron or lead. Due to the age and deteriorating condition of the pipework, they are often a significant source of leakage and supply disruption for customers. Backyard services are usually shared, running through a number of neighbouring properties making it difficult to detect and repair leaks. Where properties share a connection, leaks and bursts affect all connected properties, resulting in low pressure and/or outages.

Irish Water extended its thanks to all customers in St Michael’s Park who have engaged and assisted  in the provision of the backyard services programme.

These projects are only successful if all customers on a shared water connection support and facilitate the works so that the old and leaking mains can be decommissioned, said Irish Water.

Speaking about the benefits of the project, Regional Delivery Lead with Irish Water, Joe Carroll said: “Old backyard service connections are a huge source of leakage and continue to impact communities right across Ireland, causing low pressure and supply disruption.

Replacing these old water mains and service connections in poor condition will eliminate existing leaks and significantly reduce the amount of clean drinking water lost into the ground. We would like to thank the local residents in St Michael’s Park for facilitating these works and working with us to provide a more secure and reliable water supply for generations to come,” he siad. 

The works will be carried out by Ward & Burke Construction in partnership with Laois County Council on behalf of Irish Water and are due to be completed by the end of March 2023.