Uisce Éireann and Cork City Council are advising customers on Quaker Road, Summerhill South, Parkowen, High Street, Southern Coad, Capwell Road, Capwell Avenue and surrounding areas that scheduled maintenance works will be carried out on the water network starting this Sunday.
Network flushing works commence on Sunday 13 August until Wednesday 23 August approximately. This involves isolating small sections of the network and clearing the watermains of any sediment from these old cast iron pipes to reduce instances of discolouration of the water supply.
Speaking about the maintenance works, Operations Lead with Uisce Éireann, Pat Britton said:
“The flushing works that we have undertaken on the network in recent months is a key part of our action plan to address increased but intermittent discolouration issues impacting a small number of customers in Cork City. Currently, the number of complaints in relation to this issue continues to be low. However, as Cork City’s water distribution network is very old and very large, occasionally issues such as discolouration will occur but we will continue to work hard to limit these instances for customers as much as possible.”
There are approximately 600km of watermains across Cork city, 60% to 70% of which are made from cast iron and up to 100 years old. The aging network combined with essential upgrades and maintenance works, unplanned outages and bursts, and the commissioning of new infrastructure can cause issues such intermittent discolouration for customers.
During the works, customers may experience some temporary discolouration or their water to appear brown or orange as the sediment is flushed from the network. If this occurs, running the tap for several minutes will usually restore water to a clear colour. Uisce Éireann continues to advise customers not to drink discoloured water.
Ongoing testing and analysis of the water supply continues, in conjunction with extensive monitoring across Cork City’s distribution network. This ensures the water is compliant with drinking water regulations and is safe to drink. The results of these ongoing tests are shared with the EPA and the HSE.
For further information, visit www.water.ie. The Uisce Éireann customer care helpline is open 24/7 and on 1800 278 278.
