Pipe repairs will cause water problem in Dublin

Homes and businesses in a wide area of south Co Dublin and east Kildare will have their water supplies reduced, with a possible complete loss of service this weekend.

The reduction in supply is to facilitate repairs to one of Dublin City Council's two largest watermains in the region - the pipes which bring water to the city from the Ballymore Eustace treatment plant on the Wicklow/Kildare border and which is each large enough to accommodate a small car. Ballymore Eustace supplies more than half the drinking water of the Dublin region.

The council said it would attempt to repair the pipe from the inside, and if successful the operation would be completed by this evening. If a section of the pipe has to be replaced, the repairs may go on into tomorrow.

Draining the damaged pipe began yesterday afternoon. The city council said that if customers conserve water, the second pipe should meed demand, and complete shut-off can be avoided.

Areas which are likely to experience a drop in pressure include much of south County Dublin from Tallaght to Stillorgan and covering Dundrum, Rathfarnham, Rathmines and Ballyboden.

Areas which the city council says have a "small possibility" of a complete loss of water include Rathcoole, Athgoe, Baldonnel, Westbrook Glen, Newcastle (Co Dublin), Citywest, Saggart, Peamount, Orlagh, Kiltalown, Ballycullen and Beverley.

In Co Kildare, Kill and surrounding areas will notice a drop in water pressure and a "possible loss" of supply while areas around Johnstown, Carragh, and Sallins may only notice a lack of pressure.

According to Dublin City Council, the work is "pre-emptive" and designed to prevent a major shutdown of water supply to the region.

The city council said the leak was discovered during routine maintenance.