Leitrim Street Area Water Mains Replacement

Uisce Éireann, working in partnership with Cork City Council, is continuing to replace problematic cast iron water mains in Cork City to improve security of supply and reduce leakage.

Uisce Éireann is investing €500 million over four years to reduce leakage and remove old pipes from the public water network. The benefits of this programme are:

• Replacing old pipes to reduce drinking water lost by leakage
• Reducing disruption from bursts, leaks and outages in the network
• Improving water pressure & quality
• Delivering savings on operation and maintenance of the network

The water mains replacement works will involve the decommissioning and replacement of approximately 740 metres of problematic aging cast iron water mains. The works will also involve laying new water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers' property boundaries and connecting it to the customers' water supply. Where the existing service connections on the public side are lead these will be replaced as part of this improvement work.

These critical upgrades are being carried out prior to the next phase of urban renewal works under the Cork City Centre Movement Strategy. The locations to benefit from these mains improvement works in Cork City are as below and are expected to take 14 weeks.

The existing pipes will be replaced with new modern polyethylene (plastic) pipes. These works will be carried out by COFTEC Ltd. in partnership with Cork City Council on behalf of Uisce Éireann.

The benefits of these water mains replacement works in Cork City include:

• A reliable water supply - replacing the ageing water mains and service connections will reduce the instances of bursts and water outages and will ensure a reliable supply of water to customers and local businesses in the area.
• Reduced leaks - replacing the old water mains and service connections will eliminate existing leaks and reduce the amount of clean drinking water lost into the ground.
• Improved water quality - removing existing old cast iron from the public water network and replacing them with new plastic pipes will reduce the risk of contamination.
• Improved operation and maintenance - these works will deliver cost savings by providing improved water network operation that will require less maintenance in the future. 

In order to complete works safely and efficiently a road closure of Leitrim Street (north) will be required during working hours for the duration of works at that location (c3 weeks). Traffic from the N20 will be diverted via Devonshire Street and Pine Street. Heavy good Vehicles (HGVs) travelling south on the N20 will be diverted via Carrolls Quay, Lavitts Quay, St. Patricks Bridge and Bridge Street.

When works proceed to Leitrim Street South traffic at this location will be reduced to one lane.

When works proceed to Pine Street a full road closure will be put in place at this location with Devonshire Street also closed for eastbound traffic at this time.

Variable messaging signs will be in place on approach to the location of works and local diversion signage will also be in place for the duration. Local and emergency traffic will be maintained at all times.

The traffic management plan is subject to review and change pending variation in traffic volume.

The works may involve some short-term water shut offs and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours notice prior to any planned water shut offs.

We understand that this type of work can be inconvenient and works crews will make every effort to minimise any disruption these necessary works cause.