Uisce Éireann completes series of significant water supply savings for Sligo

Information below is relevant until further updates are provided here or on our Supply and Service Updates section

Uisce Éireann customers to the south of Sligo town are benefitting from a more secure and reliable water supply after the recent completion of works to replace over 8.7km of aging water mains with new, modern pipes. 

The recent works included three sections – from Carraroe National School to Grange East Reservoir, from Drumiskabole Crossroads to Ballysadare, and most recently, from Carraroe National School to Drumiskabole Crossroads. These projects have significantly reduced the volume of drinking water lost to leakage and provided a more reliable supply for homes and businesses in the area.  

The first section of works saw the replacement of over 3km of mains, running along the L3601 and Oakfield Road. Works commenced in Spring 2024 and were completed in early Summer 2024. 

A second programme of works involving almost 3.7km of aging mains was carried out from Drumiskabole Crossroads to Ballysadare along the N59 and Old Dublin Road to the roundabout in Ballysadare. These works also involved laying new water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers' property boundaries and connecting them to the customers' water supply. Works were completed in Summer 2024. 

The final section of works involved the replacement of 2km of mains along the R284 from Carraroe National School to Drumiskabole. Works were carried out by Farrans Construction on behalf of Uisce Éireann and were completed in Autumn 2024. 

These works were carried out as part of Uisce Éireann’s national Leakage Reduction Programme. At present, approximately one-third of all drinking water produced in Ireland is lost to leakage before reaching taps in our homes and businesses due to aging mains in the network, some of which have been in place for over a century. The Leakage Reduction Programme is Uisce Éireann’s nationwide programme to further reduce this rate of leakage to 25% by the end of this decade, down from a high point of 46% in 2018. 

Patricia Lowry, Programme Manager with Uisce Éireann, thanked the local community for their patience and cooperation while these works were underway. 

“As a result of these leakage reduction works, customers in Sligo are now enjoying a more secure and reliable water supply,” said Patricia. 

“We were losing valuable clean drinking water underground, so it was crucial to locate and fix these leaks and strengthen the network. Finding and fixing leaks in the network is an ongoing challenge for us at Uisce Eireann but it is one we are committed to meeting.” 

Since 2018, Uisce Éireann has invested more than €500 million to upgrade the underground water network across the country through the delivery of the national Leakage Reduction Programme. Uisce Éireann is investing a further €250 million every year up to the end of 2030 – fixing leaks and replacing pipes to provide a more reliable water supply. 

For more information on the Leakage Reduction Programme please visit our LRP page. Members of the public can report any leaks in the public water network by contacting Uisce Éireann at 1800 278 278 or online at Report a Leak.